Bodyguard
by Annevader
Summary: With a psychotic killer on the loose and Rose as the only witness, her life is suddenly in danger. To protect her, an Auror must follow her at all times. But did it have to be her ex-flame, Scorpius Malfoy? #Winner of Best Post-School at Next-Gen Awards#
1. Threat

**A/N: New story!(Clearly.) Credit for this whole story goes to Pal the Bad Ass because she's awesome and tells me what to write and i write it. So really, this can be classified as a collaboration. And i'm fairly sure that if i don't update, she will beat me with her guitar. Also, to the cheesy Bollywood flick i was watching when I got this idea. (Even though that movie made no sense. It served to entertain, at any rate.) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything JKR owns unless we have the same shirt or pair of earrings. Highly unlikely. **

**Chapter one**

Rose concentrated on the clacking sound her heels made as she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other.

_Just a bit further, _she told herself. _Almost there. _

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. If only she hadn't had so much to drink, she could have simply apparated home. She'd have been tucked into bed by now, reading a cheap romance novel or even better, sleeping. But work had been so hectic lately and Dom had been so insistent that she take a break and kick back and relax for once. It had been too tempting , downing one firewhisky after another; her throat was still burning.

Looking up blearily, she realized she had no idea where she was. The alley she was in could be anywhere, near her flat or on the other side of the city. An alley was an alley. They all looked the same, infuriatingly enough. Why on earth didn't someone name them? This one could be called Stinkin' Piss Bucket because that was precisely what it smelt like.

She stumbled forward, too tired to move in any other direction. Rose concentrated on the sound of her shoes again. _Clack, Clack, Clack. _Right foot, left foot. The sound seemed so distinct from her own person somehow, as if she weren't the one making that annoying tapping sound or letting out that hideous shriek…

Rose's head snapped up as the scream reverberating around the narrow alley finally registered. Not even bothering to stop and think for a second, she ran forward, drawing her wand, as she went. Her senses seemed to clear almost immediately. The scene that greeted her eyes was like something out of a muggle horror film. Except in the muggle film, nobody would have been getting _crucio-_edand _sectumsempra-_edat the same time. Or at any time at all.

The man on the floor was writhing in pain, his shrieks so loud and so continuous that they hardly seemed like screams at all, his eyes rolling wildly in their sockets, only the whites visible. He lay in a pool of his own blood, spreading so far and so quickly that it was staining the bottoms of her stilettos red, though she was a good five feet away.

Raising her wand, she cast the only spell that made any sense:

"Protego!"

The wall of energy expanded between the victim and his assailant, and broke the curse's hold on him. The man, his attacker, whirled around to face her and he let out a growl of unsuppressed anger when he saw her. She couldn't see his whole face because- and as she realized this, her stomach gave a nasty jolt- he was wearing a death eater mask.

It was absurd. Impossible. What were the odds that she would just stumble across one of the Death Eater killings? The killer wasn't a death eater, though. No. He was someone who _killed _former death eaters. Everyone had heard about the string of murders this one psycho had left behind him. They were supposed to be untraceable, never witnessed. Or _maybe_, they were never witnessed because the unfortunate bystander simply never lived long enough to report anything. Her stomach roiled at the thought.

Heart pounding, she raised her wand, ready to defend herself till her last breath. Even in her inebriated state, she was sure she could fend him off long enough to escape. The man on the ground was still screaming, she realized. The curse had been lifted more than a minute ago but he seemed unaware of anything but his agony and the pool of blood he lay in.

The pseudo Death Eater across her didn't raise his wand though. His arm hung limply at his side, as if he wasn't even thinking of attacking, as if he thought she couldn't possibly pose a threat. Well he had another think coming. She slashed her wand viciously through the air and a purple jet of light flew at him. He barely moved his wand arm, but a shield blocked her spell, and it dissipated.

He turned to leave, looking extremely casual about it as he went. At the last possible moment though, just before he dissapparated, he turned to look at her directly and his lips moved soundlessly in a familiar pattern, spelling out something she had heard almost every day of her life:

_Rose Weasley. _

And then he was gone.

# # # #

Rose lifted her head as the healer entered her room. She was sitting on a bed in one of the wards in St. Mungo's. She'd been in too much of a daze to notice which when she'd come in.

"You're doing fine." The healer said, checking the chart next to her bed and making some changes with his wand. "You can leave anytime. It was just a bit of shock."

"About bloody time..."Rose muttered. She'd sent a patronus to the healers, not wanting to apparate with the injured man. She'd tried to get away after handing him over but they'd insisted she come along just in case. Plus they'd probably checked up her background to see if there was any chance of her being a raving lunatic who tortured innocent people, called the authorities and then hung around for the fun of it.

Rose stood up, slipping her shoes on reluctantly. "How's the guy I came in with?"

The healer glanced up from his notes. "Oh his condition is stable now. Quite a lot of damage though. Someone out there was using seriously dark magic. He owes his life to you."

Rose grimaced. "Great. Figure out who he is?"

He shrugged. "No clue. I suppose we'll just have to wait for him to wake up. Hopefully his mind is intact."

Rose nodded and left the ward, thanking the healer as she went. It was late- really late. The giant red display of numbers in the reception showed a glowing 3:57 AM.

Compared to before though, she wasn't tired at all. She was still trying to get her mind around the fact that she'd just witnessed a bloke being tortured to death. Well, okay, so she was a curse breaker for Gringott's(Like her Uncle Bill) and had seen her fair share of curses but she'd never actually seen one person using them on another. Somehow it was less personal if it was an old pyramid shooting curses at you rather than some dude in a mask.

She grabbed a handful of powder and floo-ed back to her apartment.

The spinning motion made her already confused mind whirl even faster and she was asleep within moments of collapsing on her bed.

# # # #

Rose chewed her lip thoughtfully, hands on her hips and head cocked to the side. Her door's lock was broken. Broken as in, it wasn't there. At all. And that was really saying something considering she'd put up basic wards on the door same as any other magical person living in a muggle inhabited area.

So clearly it wasn't one of her neighbours or a vandal unless they were particularly adept at getting past spells and running off with locks, not bothering with the stuff in her apartment.

It was strange really. Everything was still there- though she didn't recall leaving everything in such a mess. Everything was where she'd left it but it all looked a bit haphazard anyway, as if someone had picked everything up and then put it down again.

She tapped her wand against her palm. There wasn't much she could do about it. Maybe it was a burglar who'd been interrupted halfway through the job or something. Maybe some stuff really was missing but she just hadn't noticed it.

She settled on recasting the wards, putting up some stronger ones and basically just forgetting about it. Tucking the wand back into the waistband of her jeans, she slipped on flats and left for work.

# # # #

Boring. Boring. Boring.

Rose thumped her head on the desk in front of her and the goblin next to her shot her a nasty look. Rose stuck out her tongue at him when he looked away.

Why was she stuck here again? Shouldn't she be in some exotic cursed country fighting off hordes of bloodthirsty Inferi or breaking through the curses surrounding the pyramid of Abu Rawash?

It was a particularly interesting case, the Abu Rawash one- the pyramid of Djedefre. Rose called it the Rawash pyramid because life was just easier that way. There were a whole bunch of wards around the pyramid so that to muggles and even wizards, for that matter, the pyramid looked like a heap of ruins. She'd been on an expedition there last year. Nobody had expected her team to find anything exciting over there which was precisely why they'd been sent in the first place- to get them out of the way. But then her team had discovered the glamour wards around the pyramid and cracked them and now the whole world was all over it, trying to figure out its mysteries.

Her team had been pushed to the sidelines and told to bugger off, that they'd done a nice job, gotten lucky and that they could go buy themselves something nice with their bonuses. Rose, who'd been leader of the expedition, was particularly indignant about the short shrift they got and had stirred up all kinds of trouble about it. Eventually, her Uncle Bill had stepped in and assured her that he would get her and her team on the next party that went there.

And yet, here she was, six months later, still sitting at a desk in Gringotts, solving minor issues for the bank. She was nothing more than a handyman, like that plumber bloke her mother had told her about.

Rose sucked on the end of her sugar quill, eyes following the seconds hand of the giant clock in front of her. An agonizing amount of time later, her shift was over. She rushed out, apparating home, ready to kick back and relax in the bathtub and order some Chinese food.

She knew something was wrong the moment she saw her front door. It was hanging limply from a single hinge, looking sinister and twisted. She pushed it open carefully, drawing her wand.

Moving into the hallway, she looked around her, aghast at the chaos surrounding her. Chairs and tables overturned, sofas lying on their sides with their stuffing spilling out, a sticky black substance coating surfaces as if a tar bomb had gone off in there. Even the windows were smashed in and the contents of all the drawers were all over the place.

She couldn't let her family find out about this; they'd go completely loco. They'd probably lock her up in a 'secure environment' to make sure nobody could kill her or whatever. Rose wasn't stupid. It had become pretty damn obvious that this wasn't the work of a petty thief. It most likely had something to do with the man she had seen last night. Which meant it was personal, and it was dangerous.

Casting a quick _Homenum Revelio, _she moved further into the house, kicking broken objects out of the way. All the rooms were the same. Whoever had been here had left by now. She saw with dismay that even the clothes in her cupboard had been ripped and flung about the place. She'd have to buy a whole new wardrobe. Shopping=Money=Broke.

She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and whipped around, letting out a shaky laugh when she saw it was just her reflection. She moved her wand closer to the mirror, lighting the tip; there was something written on it.

Rose stared, wide eyed, at the missive in front of her, scrawled with the sticky black substance. It simply read: _Avada Kedavra, Mudblood._

That was it. Three words. But it certainly got the point across.

"Rosie? Oh my God, what the- ROSE?"

Rose turned towards the main door and ran out, nearly smacking into a horrified Dominique, staring about her, jaw wide open.

Rose's heart took a one-way trip to the bottom of her feet.

"Rose, what the fuck did I miss?"

So much for not letting her family find out.

* * *

**A/N: Review please! Seriously though, leave a comment. The updates on this one are going to be slow compared to Messing Up 101 because, well, because I need to study or i will fail and spend the rest of my life with a boring desk job at a fast food chain. (Or as the sweeper or something.) Anyway, a big thanks to Pal the Bad Ass again because she is awesome and i love her (Platonically, Pal. Platonically.) **


	2. Explosion

**A/N: I know i said i would take ten million years to update, but my patience really does suck. So, instead of seven days, you have this in two. Aren't I brilliant? Oh, also, this fic is rated M for violence because there will most probably be some gruesome stuff in later chapters. Don't think I've forgotten about our lovely killer.**

**A BIG thanks to Missdagane, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Cass and emeralda363 for reviewing the first chapter. You guys are the reason I updated so quickly. **

**Also, to Cass: I've written ahead a bit so definitely two chapters a week minimum for the rest of this month. Thanks for reviewing! And yeah, there are so many potential sexual tension situations with this plot. **

**Thanks to all those who've subscribed: Missdagane, MabyeKindaSorta, XXX-meggie-loves-to-readXXX, KatieLou1273, KCornish13, Lizzy0308, renonoelle, Paco the Loser, emeralda363 and lilbuddie715. I apologize if I've left anyone out! Let me know if i have. Also, i'd love to hear what all of you think about this fic so please do review, yeah? It's up to you of course, but they're always appreciated. :D **

**And finally, I owe this fic to Pal the Bad Ass and Palak. They're like my beta/idea givers/critics. And i love 'em. And again, I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Now, read.**

Chapter two:

"Guys, it looks worse than it is. You don't have to fuss about it so much. Really."

Everyone ignored Rose and continued arguing. Rose clenched her teeth and wished she could just kill them all right now. Except if she did, life would get pretty boring since they constituted like half the wizarding population of Britain.

"Harry, you have to do something! What about the witness protection programme? You can put her in that right? Right? I mean, this is my daughter for Merlin's sake!" Ron's face was red as he flapped his arms around, trying to emphasize his point.

Her uncle Harry just kept pacing the room, clearly thinking hard. "I can't do that Ron. Everyone would notice. You know how the media is. As soon as she disappears, the daily prophet is going to publish something about it and no matter where she goes, people will know it's her. And if nobody finds her, they'll assume she's dead or in rehab. I'd really like to keep a low profile about this."

Rose considered just hexing herself and saving them all the trouble. If only Dom were here right now….she would be such a perfect outlet for her frustration. Rose had practically _begged _Dom not to tell anyone about what she'd seen in her apartment. And then Dom had taken one look at the words on the mirror and instantly apparated to the burrow to inform the entire world about what had happened.

Which in a way, was nothing. It was just a simple death threat. People got them all the time! It's not as if all of them just dropped dead whenever they got one. And okay, so she'd have to buy a lot of new clothes and maybe a new mirror but most of the stuff had been easily fixed by a simple wave of her wand.

Everyone was just over-reacting. If this had happened any other time, like say when she hadn't just witnessed an almost-murder, the others would probably have forgotten all about it by now. Except that it hadn't happened any other time, it had happened now and there had been no way she could avoid telling them about the guy in the alley. Not when James and Fred had tied her to a chair and demanded answers at wand point, anyway.

Rose tried to listen to the conversation again but everyone was still making the same points they had been screaming about two hours ago and nobody seemed to be listening to each other. Her dad was still yelling at the top of his voice, Harry was now looking pensively out the window, her mum and Aunt Ginny were arguing with Uncle Bill about something or the other and James and Fred were busy prodding something that looked suspiciously like one of the garden gnomes; Dominique was hiding in her room, still afraid that Rose would try to hex her again.

Just when Rose thought she would go crazy and throw a tantrum if everyone didn't _shut up _already, Harry turned away from the window and cleared his throat. Everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at him; James quickly stuffed the gnome under a cushion.

"All right. I have a few ideas. Everyone except Rose, get out."

"WHAT?"

"You can't do that!"

"I'm her FATHER, Harry!"

"That's not fair, Uncle Harry! We love Rosie too!"

Rose looked around, wide eyed as everyone started screaming at once. Uncle Harry's ears turned slightly pink as he drew his wand and let out a shower of sparks. Everyone fell quiet again, glaring at him mutinously. "Right," He said tersely. "Ron and Rose, stay. Everyone else, out. And don't breathe a word about this to anyone outside this room."

Everyone except Rose and a triumphant looking Ron filed out tetchily, with more than a few death glares being tossed towards Harry.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in the typical Potter way. "Sorry about that Rosie. I wish Dominique hadn't felt the need to announce it so publicly. I can't believe though, that you weren't going to tell us at all." He pinned her with a reproachful stare and Rose hurriedly commenced an examination of her shoelaces.

"Yeah, Rosie!" her dad whined. "How could you not tell me? You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

Yeah, right, dad. If she told him half the stuff she'd gotten up to over the past five years since graduating Hogwarts, he wouldn't be saying that to her right now. Mostly because she would have been gnome chow by now.

"Rose," Harry began. "The witness protection programme is impossible without drawing unwanted attention. Which leaves me with only one option. And you're not going to like it."

Rose looked at him warily. What was he up to?

He seemed to be summoning his courage as he went on. "While you all were arguing, I sent a patronus to my department at the ministry. They're going to be sending someone over in a few minutes. I want you to remain calm and act professional about this."

His department? Uncle Harry was Head of the Auror Office. Which meant this 'someone' was an auror. An auror she apparently knew and didn't like. Uncle Harry was visibly sweating now; he swiped his brow with the back of his shirt sleeve.

"Umm, see the thing is Rosie, there is an alternative to the protection programme. Instead of having to move away and change your name and all that, you can continue to live in London and go to work and everything. But err, you'll have to have a…well, I've assigned an auror to track you and watch over you at all times."

Rose held in the explosion building up in her. She knew this wasn't the worst part. Oh no, he was beating around the bush about something and when he finally came out and said it, _that _was when she was really going to explode.

She indicated for him to continue. "I assure you, he's the best we've got and it's either him or a full security detail, I mean that's how good he is, you know? And I know you don't want five people following you around all day, I mean one is so much better, don't you think, even if you don't necessarily get along too well." He was babbling now, his calm demeanor from earlier gone. "And it's only for a little while till we apprehend the intruder and maybe it won't be so bad, you know, I think it'll be good for you actually. I mean, he's just going to be acting as your…er bodyguard for a while. Really. Just a while." He petered off feebly and tugged at his collar.

"Uncle Harry." Rose said through gritted teeth. "_Who _is going to be my…'bodyguard'?"

Harry gulped and seemed about to answer when green flames flared up in the grate. "Him" He said, with a certain amount of relief, pointing to the figure that was stepping out, dusting ash from his expensive robes.

For one heart stopping moment, Rose convinced herself it couldn't be him. It _couldn't _be.

And then the blonde man turned around.

"Scorpius Malfoy, reporting for duty, Sir."

Rose exploded.

XXXXXXXX

Rose knew she probably looked wild right now, with her eyes wide and mouth gaping and her hair flying around her face, but she didn't really care.

"NO! Absolutely not! Are you saying- are you telling me- HOW can you expect me to spend more than a minute with _him_? Uncle Harry, no!"

She was on her feet, chest heaving, eyes locked with Malfoy's. His face was impassive and yet he managed to convey the aura that his sentiments matched hers exactly. Great. Good. At least they were already agreeing about something. This was a stupid idea. Uncle Harry had clearly made a mistake.

"Rose, calm down-"

"Harry! How can you do this?" Rose turned, surprised, to see her dad glaring at his best friend, face red and fists clenched. "I'm not letting that boy near Rosie again! You know what happened in their seventh year-"

"Ron, this is much more important that what happened when they were in school! Rose's life could be in danger here! Surely you won't hold-"

And they were off, arguing over it heatedly.

Rose's eyes flickered back to Scorpius. She mustered the most hateful glare she could and directed its full force at him. He didn't so much as blink, just continued to stare at her with the same blank look on his face, as if she were beneath his notice.

Rose hated that he looked so much like he had five years ago- the same artistically arranged hair which he probably still didn't brush, the aristocratic planes of his face, the grey eyes and pale skin. He looked just as he had the day it had all fallen apart.

She could remember it so clearly, it was almost painful. It_ had_ been painful, actually-but that was a while back. She'd gotten over it, moved on. And he clearly had as well. He didn't look particularly happy or sad at having to see her again- just a little disgusted.

Rose cast her mind back, pulling up the old memories she'd tried so hard to suppress.

"_I'll see you at dinner then. Later, Dom!" Rose grinned and waved away her best friend, heading to the library. She had a whole lot of potions work left over and if she didn't finish it soon, she was royally screwed. Also, she had to meet Scorpius at ten and there was no way she was missing that._

_The strap of her satchel gave way and it fell to the ground, its contents spilling out in every direction. With a groan of frustration, she dropped to her knees, gathering up her belongings. Around the corner, she could hear a male voice, growing louder as its owner drew nearer._

"_He's meeting her later tonight. I bet he's going to screw her. Lucky bastard."_

_Rose's ears perked up at this. Ooh, Hogwarts gossip!_

_There was the sound of someone else laughing. "True. I'd love to get into Weasley's pants." Rose accidently let go of the book she was holding. Were they talking about her? Or Dom? _

"_Yeah, but that's just a bonus for him isn't it? I mean, it's not as if he actually even likes her. I heard he hates her, as a matter of fact. She is pretty insufferable, I suppose. With her annoying know-it-all attitude." _

"_Ugh, yeah. So unattractive in a girl. I like mine dumb and quiet- except for when she's in my bed, of course." _

_The two laughed again and Rose realized they'd stopped walking. Her heart was thumping painfully. It sounded like they were talking about her but they couldn't be, surely? She and Scorpius loved each other. He'd even told her that he did, just last week. _

"_So why is he bothering with her again?" The second voice asked._

"_Apparently his old man put him up to it. That's what I heard anyway. They think associating with her is going to be good for them later, you know- help them build up their reputation again or whatever. Get them in the good with the ministry. I mean, considering her dad helped defeat the dark lord and is best mates with Harry Potter."_

_It registered somewhere in her mind that the voice was Alec Zabini's, but her brain felt frozen. She let the thought drift away, unheeded. _

"_That's a pretty good idea." Said voice number two. "Wish I'd thought of it myself- I think all our reputations could do with a boost." _

"_Yeah," Zabini agreed. "Not to mention, the bonus in there is really quite attractive. I'd tap that for free, without any ulterior motives at all." _

_One of them wolf whistled and they laughed again. She heard footsteps and realizing that they had begun walking again, she picked up her stuff blindly and started running, ears still ringing from what she'd heard._

Rose pulled her mind back to the present, realizing that she'd been staring at Malfoy for longer than was healthy. He seemed pretty out of it himself, though, as if he was remembering some unpleasant stuff himself. Rose had confronted him about what she'd heard later, and he hadn't denied it. She broke up with him, plain and simple. And then he'd found some absurd way to pin it all on her.

Rose glowered at him one final time and tuned back into her dad and Uncle's ridiculous argument.

"She's not seventeen anymore, Ron…..-"

"Ruddy bastard messed with my daughter! I'll kill him…..-"

"-Complete nutter! Will you shut…..-"

"-MY daughter! I'll cut his balls off-"

Rose shook her head and decided to break up the fight.

XXXXXX

Scorpius had obviously known he would be seeing her as soon as he flooed over, but it was still a shock seeing Rose again. The first thing he noticed was that she'd somehow managed to become even more beautiful- her hair had lost its slight frizz and her face had matured and developed. Not to mention certain other areas that had undergone some development. The second thing he noticed was that she looked positively horrified to see him, as if all her worst nightmares had just flooed into her living room and were now doing the Conga in front of her appalled eyes.

She was yelling some absolute tosh at Mr. Potter but he wasn't really bothered. He just concentrated on masking his emotions, something he'd become an expert at, and looking disdainful instead. He managed that part pretty well- he didn't exactly have to act.

Seeing her again was something he had been looking forward to but in a twisted way- he'd wanted to see if anything between them had changed at all over time but judging by her less than warm greeting, he was about as welcome in her presence as a flobberworm.

Seventh year had been terrible. Well, not terrible. It had definitely had its moments, most of them Rose-related. But then she'd broken up with him. He grimaced inwardly as he remembered how that particular conversation had gone.

"_You're using me!" Rose had declared without preamble. Scorpius had been waiting for her by the lake for twenty minutes, his unease growing steadily as the minutes dragged by. Now Rose had finally decided to show up and was hurling all sorts of accusations at him. _

"_What are you talking about?" He'd said. _

_Her eyes were rimmed with red as if she had been crying and Scorpius felt a pang of concern. He wanted to comfort her and pull her close but he figured she would probably push him into the lake if he attempted anything right then._

"_I know what you're doing. I know why you suddenly started showing so much interest in me after years of just ignoring me! You're doing this because of your stupid family name aren't you? Because you think the world will like you again if you get into Uncle Harry's good graces. That is so- so bloody _Slytherin _of you!"_

_Scorpius had just gaped at her, completely taken aback. Then realizing that gaping was highly unbecoming, even on Malfoy's, he shook himself out of his stupor and settled for a dignified "Huh?"_

_What she was saying was completely absurd- and yet it wasn't untrue, was it? It was the only reason his family had accepted his relationship with her so readily and he had pounced upon it as an excuse. _

"_Rose, you know that's not why I-"_

"_Oh but you won't deny it will you?" She'd fired at him."Can you stand there and honestly tell me that you never thought about it that way? That it never crossed your mind that I'm just a way for you to score a cushy ministry job?" _

_Scorpius remained silent. _

_Rose gave a dry sob. "I thought so."_

_And then before he could say another word, justify himself, she had turned on her heel and stomped away. _

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at real-time Rose as she marched towards her psychotic relatives, clearly intending to do something foolish.

He sighed and cracked his knuckles. Time to get to work.

* * *

**A/N: There! Scorpius at last. (It's only the second chapter so maybe not _at last, _but i love the bloke. So, yeah.) Any questions? Ask away. Review because it makes me happy and when i'm happy i put Scorp and Rose in compromising positions. ;) **

**Ehh, chapter 3 will be up in a few days! **


	3. Awkward

**Disclaimer: This applies to all the chapters i will ever put up on this site- I don't own nuffink. Baah.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed chapter two: lilbuddie715, Lizzy0308, XXX-meggie-loves-to-readXXX, Lottie, Pal the bad ass, Missdagane and Cass. I loved hearing from you all! And for those who reviewed anonymously: **

**Lottie- I really loved your review. It was honest and constructive and really helped me. I agree with all the points you made and yes, i know that technically Scorp should hate her more, but bear in mind that it has been five years and I've given Scorp a more laidback attitude then is portrayed in most fics. I'll try to work on it so it comes off better in the future chapters i write, though! Your analogies were brilliant, by the way. :D Oh, also, the flashback-type portion of what happened in seventh year isn't really over yet. So maybe it'll get explained later, yeah? Oh, and this is the first time I've attempted to write something that actually makes any sense so I suppose i'll get better with revealing stuff at the right time with practice. Thanks for the wonderful feedback, it really made my day :) **

**Pal the Bad Ass- Anonymity's not the only thing that's going to rock your socks, baby. I'll give you a demonstration :* Lulz, don't kill me. (I say lulz in an ironic way, not an airhead way. Okay?) Keep stalking, amigo. **

**Cass- Oh, you made me grin like a maniac with your review! I'm glad you think i write well, that means a lot to me! And yes, you can look forward to some RxS soon :D (I'm trying to pace it of course, can't have them all over each other in just a couple of days. But rest assured, stuff will happen!) **

**And of course, thanks to those who alerted/favourited: CalliopeGalaxy, She's Automatic, meru90, thebrookester, snowflake26, yehso, Pinakamataas, and asianchick44. Leave a comment, guys! I want to know your thoughts as well but i'm not a legilimens, sadly...heartbreakingly.. **

Chapter 3:

Rose marched over to where her dad and godfather were bickering like children, rolling up her figurative sleeves as she went. The two were really letting off some steam now. They'd more or less abandoned the topic of Rose's safety and had moved on to other, more important things.

"I can't believe you told Ginny I ate that last cookie! She didn't talk to me for two days! Two ruddy-"

"Well, sorry if my sister refused to shag you because you're a hog, it's your own damn…..-"

"-told Al purebloods are monsters when he was five! Who does that? Who? He's got a complex now, thanks to…-"

"SHUT UP!"

The two men whirled around to face her, matching looks of fury on their faces. Apparently their discussion on cookies was more important than she'd surmised. Whoops?

A firm hand grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back, till she was standing behind Scorpius' tall frame.

She shoved him sideways, trying to see around him but he didn't move an inch. What a patronizing bastard. As if she needed saving from her dad and uncle.

"You should probably put those away." He said levelly.

She leaned around him to see the two men sheepishly stowing their wands away, both their faces red. "Sorry," Uncle Harry mumbled. "War reflex."

Scorpius spared a fleeting smirk in her direction and she narrowed her eyes at him. Ruddy smartarse.

"Anyway," Harry continued cheerfully. "At least I know you're taking your job seriously. I think Rose should show you her apartment now." He turned to look at her expectantly.

Rose picked up on the cue. "Er-oh, right. Yeah. But wait- I never agreed to-"

She broke off as the two adults legged it out of the living room.

She'd never agreed to having Scorpius as her pet auror.

So where the hell were the people she was supposed to be screaming at?

"So…..shall we go then?"

Rose resisted the urge to thump her head against the nearest surface.

XXXXXXX

Rose hastily dropped Scorpius' hand as they appeared outside her apartment. It had been incredibly awkward using side-along apparition because that required physical contact. Which was something Rose really wanted to avoid because time had done nothing to dull the swooping sensation she'd always felt when they were touching.

She unlocked the door with her key and shouldered it open. The door had been jamming weirdly ever since she'd fixed it. Glancing back to see he was following, she continued on through to the living room, kicking off her shoes. He was glancing around the small flat, his face not giving away any of his thoughts.

Rose mentally slapped herself for wondering and caring what he thought of her home.

"You should probably give me a key to this place," He said suddenly.

Rose jumped, startled. She'd almost forgotten that normal people would have said something to each other by now.

"I'm not giving you a key to my house, Scor-Malfoy."

She bit her tongue harshly, mad at herself for almost using his name, as his eyes flickered to her for a brief second.

"I don't think you fully appreciate the extent of the situation, _Weasley." _Rose cringed inwardly at the emphasis he put on her last name. "I'm going to be living in this hell-hole as well and I need to be able to come and go as I please."

"Hey!" Rose was already protesting before his words had fully sunk in. "This is not a hell-hole, do you know how much muggle money I have to pay a- Wait, what do you mean, you're living here?"

She eyed him warily as he turned to give her a look that spelt _Idiot. _As in idiot Rose, not Idiot Scorpius.

"What did you think, I was going to spend the next few months sleeping on your ruddy welcome mat?"

Rose flushed. "No, of course not. But couldn't you get another flat somewhere nearby? Like say, a hundred kilometers from here?"

He ignored the bite in her words and examined a cup cheerily displaying _Give me some sugar, baby_ across the front. He snorted and set it down. "If I live anywhere but here, how on earth am I supposed to save you if that psycho breaks in again? Not to mention, I'd have to blast your door off its hinges every time I dropped by."

This time Rose's face flushed with anger. "Listen here, you git. I don't care what you've been told, but I don't need looking after like a bloody dog or a toddler. If you love your job so much, go be someone else's baby sitter."

She stumbled after him as he wandered away in the middle of her speech, looking around like a tourist in a shopping mall. He kept picking up embarrassing mementos and sniggering at them; Rose felt like hitting him over the head with the table lamp.

"I can take care of myself, d'you hear?"

"Clearly," he sneered, pointing at the mirror with the tar message still scrawled across it.

Rose turned and looked at their reflection, the two of them standing side by side with the ugly words floating around them. Scorpius looked as perfect and lazy as ever while she looked completely frazzled, with her hair turning frizzy. She even had crazy person eyes from all the throttling she'd been wanting to do all day.

Scowling, she stamped away from the mirror, heading to the tiny kitchen. She needed a bloody kettle full of tea to cope with this.

She could hear Scorpius moving around in the tiny flat, going through her most personal possessions, no doubt.

Rose settled for making tea the muggle way as it took more time. Maybe if she made about twenty cups of muggle tea a day, she could avoid Scorpius entirely. She'd either be shacked up in the kitchen or the washroom and surely his job description didn't entail him following her in there?

Scorpius entered the kitchen at that moment, something dangling from his index finger that made her face and neck burn a brilliant shade of red. With a strangled cry of indignation, she snatched the bright pink thong from him and stuffed it into her pocket. "What are you doing with that? You bloody pervert!"

He just smirked at her. "It was lying on my bed. Been having romantic encounters with other women in the spare room? Didn't know you swung that way, Weasley."

How could he be so bloody casual all the time?

"I don't. That's mine, you wanker." She said sourly.

"Even better!"

Scorpius followed her as she strode past him, to her bedroom. Hell, he didn't even stop at the threshold as would have been polite. He just strolled in, plonking himself down on her bed as if this were completely normal for him.

"Do you have a habit of strolling into random women's bedrooms and splaying your arse of a self over their beds?" Rose stuffed the offending garment viciously back into its drawer. Damn conspicuous underwear. She'd have to burn it now.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Rose rolled her eyes. Bloody pompous little….

"Well, get off! I need to fix this place." She half wished he wouldn't move just so she could have an excuse to hit him, but to her disappointment, he rolled off instantly, sitting up.

Her room was still a disaster zone, torn clothes strewn all over the place and the ripped curtains hanging limply from their rods. As she'd found out to her consternation, the _reparo _charm did not work on fabric as it wasn't really 'broken'.

She could feel Scorpius' eyes on her as she moved around the room, gathering clothes, assessing the damage. Ignoring the awkward tension this created, she concentrated on separating her clothes into two piles: Useable and Discard.

The discard pile was a mountain compared to the former, sadly. She'd have to go shopping soon. Maybe she could get Dom along…

Oh wait, she was mad at Dom. Right.

"You do realize," Rose jumped again at the sound of Scorpius' voice. "that the kettle you left on the stove is probably going to explode any second?"

Right on cue, there was the sound of a metallic bang from the direction of the kitchen. Rose gritted her teeth as she ran in to find the ceiling and cupboards sopping with tea. She turned the full force of her glare on Scorpius, as he leaned casually against the door frame, behind her.

"Yes," he said. "You're clearly capable of taking care of yourself."

* * *

**A/N: Admittedly not very long, but I do tend to end chapters where i think they ought to end, so some will be long and some will be short. Minimum of 2000 words a chapter though! (Probably). Anyway, for my quick update, gimme a review? :D It keeps me inspired. Which is something i need because it's hard juggling tests, bad scores, hair-ruining rain and the pressing need for sleep. Because i like flattery, and am a horribly vain person, could any of you tell english is not my native language? And do you think Scorpius is better off with a chilled approach to life with moments of anger and passion thrown in or is he better off as an angsty, my dad was a criminal, brooding type? (Nothing against that last type, I think it can make for some hot moments...) **


	4. William

**I know I said Sunday, but i'm more impatient than you guys, so Saturday it is...**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter! I'm really really happy with the response so far. Each time i get a review it makes my day so much better!: lilbuddie715, lizzy0308, pinakamataas, Isran DarkStrider, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, nick55, Anonymous Prowler, Cass, Missdagane and Love without expectation. **

**Replies to anonymous reviews: **

**Anonymous Prowler- Thanks for the concrit! I hope I don't disappoint when the action really gets going. And i'm glad you like the dialogue! I used to have major issues with it but I think I've improved vastly now. Hope you see this update :D **

**Cass- yayaay I love your reviews! I actually look forward to them every chapter now :D And my native language is Hindi. (I'm very good at abusing in Hindi...english is so polite compared to it.) Do you have an account on ffnet? **

**And finally, shukriyaa to all those who favourited/alerted: Lady Linneus, Li0n3ss, QuickQuotesQuill07, Senga1, BestofLuckJo, -HPfan, lunapeacock, thestarlitrose, Love without expectation, lola388. I urge you guys to review! (I'm a review monster. It's like...the nachos are good, but incomplete without the salsa. The story is good, but incomplete without the readers. Right?) **

Chapter 4:

"Spare blanket and a pillow. If you need anything else, don't bother waking me up."

Rose thrust the blanket into Scorpius' chest rather more harshly than the situation demanded and turned to leave.

"Well, aren't you a considerate host," came the snarky rejoinder.

Rose stopped in her tracks, pinning him with a beady look, as if defying him to say another word.

"You're a big boy, you can take care of yourself, I'm sure."

"You're right."

Rose looked up, confused. "Huh?"

"I _am _a big boy. Are you allowed to be alone in a big boy's room, Rosie?" He asked her mockingly. Rose flushed. She wished she didn't blush quite so easily. But when he was talking to her in that patronizing tone, it was impossible not to get agitated.

"First of all," Rose said, flipping her hair, "This is _my _house and therefore, _my _room. And secondly, I've been in plenty of 'big boys'' rooms. Much bigger than you I'm sure." Her eyes flickered meaningfully downwards and then up again to his smirking face.

"Touché. But I wouldn't bet on it. Care to find out, Rosie?"

"No." She snapped, irritated that he wasn't in the least bit perturbed. "Stop calling me Rosie. And what's all that?" She pointed to the pile of stuff in the furthest corner of the room.

He turned to look at it, raising an eyebrow at her in a sexy-er, infuriating manner. "_That _is my stuff. Or did you think I'd be sharing your clothes as well?"

Rose gritted her teeth, trying extremely hard to not curse him. "I know that's your stuff, you twit. I meant, when did it get here and how?"

"Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Scorpius said in mock-reproach. "It just came via portkey. One of the blokes at the auror office sent it over, probably Zabini."

Rose glanced up sharply. "Did you say Zabini?"

"Yes, why?" Scorpius asked suspiciously.

"Er-nothing. I can't believe they're setting up port key links in my house without even informing me! Isn't that like, a breach of my fundamental citizen rights?" The mention of Zabini had brought a fleeting image of the dark haired Slytherin to mind. She didn't know whether she hated him or wanted to thank him profusely for unwittingly breaking her and Scorpius up. And Zabini in the auror office? That was news to her.

Scorpius rolled his eyes at her. "You don't need to worry about stuff like that anymore. That's my job. Weren't you leaving?" He asked, looking pointedly towards the door.

"Oh. Yes. Well, Good night." Rose said in clipped tones, shutting the door as she left.

"Sweet dreams, Rosie!" He called out cheerily.

Shaking her head exasperatedly, she returned to her own room, carefully locking the door behind her.

XXXXXX

Rose yawned and stretched her arms over her head, bringing them back down in a lazy arc. It was a beautiful morning, the sunlight filtering through her window bright and dazzling. Peeking out, she saw a cloudless, blue sky. It wouldn't be raining today, then. Thank Merlin for that.

She shuffled out of her room cheerfully, banging into her door the first time as she hadn't been expecting it to be locked. Why had she locked it again? Rose couldn't bring herself to focus, her brain still asleep, so she shrugged it off as a one-off.

There was something niggling at the back of her head as she padded towards the kitchen, looking forward to a wholesome breakfast of cold cereal and juice from a packet- Yum, she thought sarcastically.

Noticing the fridge door was wide open, her good mood evaporated almost instantly, as she strode forward to close it. Great, now everything would have gone bad and she'd have to replace that too. Just as she grabbed the handle, a messy blonde head popped up over the edge and smiled at her cheerily.

"Morning, Rosie!"

Rose shrieked with frustration as the empty bowl slipped from her hand and the events of the day before came flooding back to her. "Malfoy!"

"Yes, this is he. Do you have nothing in your fridge aside from half-empty cartons of milk?" Scorpius asked genially as he shut the fridge door. "Well I suppose it doesn't matter. I found a couple of eggs and some sausages left over from the stone-age, so I suppose we can manage for today. No wonder you've been looking so peaky, Rose. You really need to kick off the day with a nutritious meal."

Rose muttered a few choice words about what she'd really like to kick, which Scorpius overlooked graciously.

He set a plate laden with food and a glass of orange juice- was that _fresh_?- in front of her and sat down opposite her, digging into his own food.

Giving him a nasty glare, Rose picked up her fork and prodded her food suspiciously.

"It's been cooked so it probably won't bite." Scorpius said, spearing a sausage with his fork.

"No shit, Sherlock. And don't ask me who Sherlock is, I'll smack you."

Scorpius chuckled and patted her hand as if to say _there-there. _"Eat up or we'll be late for work, honey."

Honey?

Rose viciously stabbed a sausage, imagining it to be the bloody annoying wanker in front of her.

He was up to something and she didn't want to find out what.

XXXXXXXXX

"Okay, so this is how we're going to do be doing this. I'll go first, understand? And you follow right after. I'm going to count till thirty and if you're not there by then, I'm coming back to get you. Understood?"

Rose sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, sir." She muttered. "Anything else, sir?"

"No, that'll be all," he replied, pretending not to realize her question was rhetorical. "I'm leaving now."

He stepped into the fireplace and released a handful of green powder. "Gringott's Head Branch, London."

As soon as he was gone, Rose threw in her own handful of floo powder and stepped into the fire, already exhausted and not at all looking forward to spinning in and out of strange fireplaces.

XXXXXXXXX

Rose tried to focus on the runic code in front of her, but her mind kept wandering. Okay, so this symbol here meant fertility and that other one was clearly death. Or was it birth? Birth made more sense. Rose shook her head and looked at the squiggle again. Okay, it was birth. And she was clearly not going to be getting any work done today. The events of yesterday were still chasing each other around in her head.

She was living with _Scorpius Malfoy. _How had this happened? Not three days ago, her life had been completely normal. She went to work every day, went out with her friends, got drunk occasionally, and sometimes hooked up with guys. That was life. Being threatened by psychopaths and followed around by hunky ex-boyfriends was not.

She glanced to her right, trying to be discreet. Scorpius was chatting with one of the goblins about the value of goblin-cut rubies in the current wizarding economy. Boring. Who cared about the bloody economy? How could he possibly look so entertained while talking about something so dull? And Rose knew he found this topic boring because he had a habit of playing with the coins in his pocket when he wasn't paying attention. And his hand was currently burrowed deep into his pocket, clearly turning a coin over and over.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat in front of her and Rose hurriedly turned her eyes back to the front, thinking it was Nigbit, her supervising goblin.

It wasn't, though. It was a handsome bloke, his bright smile directed at her.

_Not, _a traitorous voice in her head whispered, _as handsome as Scorpius, though. _

She shushed her inner weirdo and smiled back at the man in front of her.

"Hi…If you need help getting into your vault, I'm afraid you'll have to ask one of the goblins. We'd just get stuck down there for the next twenty years if I tried anything."

He laughed mirthfully. "Well now, that doesn't sound too bad." He said cheekily. "But Rose, don't you recognize me?" he spread his arms hopefully.

"Err…"

Rose looked at him more closely. He had sandy hair and a stocky build, brown eyes and he was clearly packing some muscle under his shirt.

"Manny Taylor…?"

"Nope, try again."

"Er-"

The mystery bloke laughed again, sounding a bit rueful this time. "Well, can't blame you for not recognizing me. It's been a long time, after all. And I do look pretty different." He extended a hand to her. "William Nussbaum, at your service, madam."

Rose clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh! Will! Oh my God, you look so different!" He shook her hand, holding it a little longer than was appropriate. Her eyes strayed to the right for a second, where Scorpius was watching the proceedings with rapt attention.

She turned back to Will as he spoke again. "Yeah well, the last time you saw me I was but a wee nineteen year old boy, fresh out of Durmstrang."

Rose laughed at that. "Please, nobody graduating from Durmstrang can afford to be a 'wee' little boy. You'd have your pants hexed off every second."

Will grimaced. "And so I did." They both laughed again and Rose realized that she was maybe laughing more than the occasion demanded. She'd met Will at a common friend's party two years ago. They'd hit it off, gone on a few dates but it hadn't worked out as he'd only been in England for a couple of weeks, on his way to the states. She remembered him as less sure of himself, skinnier and with an endearing lack of confidence in his courting abilities; probably not much like the Will in front of her now.

"So, Rose. Listen, it was really great to see you again…" Oh, was he leaving? "And I'm thinking I want to do it again. See you, I mean. What do you say to dinner and catching up, eh?"

"Oh," Rose said surprised. "Oh." She couldn't help but glance at Scorpius again. He seemed to be deeply engrossed in an accounting spreadsheet in front of him, but his jaw was clenched and the hand in his pocket had curled into a fist.

William seemed to deflate at her lack of enthusiasm at his offer. "Well, it's alright of course, if you don't want to. I mean, you know if you're seeing someone already, I could just..I'll be going then-"

"Oh, Will no! I'd love to get dinner with you sometime." Rose said hastily. "And no, I'm not seeing anyone right now."

William perked right up at this. "Well, great! I'll pick you up Saturday night then?"

"Sure. Saturday night."

They grinned at each other for a moment.

"Well, see you then, beautiful." Will gave her a mischievous wink and kissed the back of her hand, sauntering off towards the double doors. Rose felt as if her entire face was on fire. He turned back at the exit and gave her another smile and she returned it hastily, hoping it didn't look forced.

She turned to her left and met Scorpius' slightly hostile gaze.

"What?" She demanded irritably.

"Nothing." He turned back to his spreadsheet.

Rose picked up her code again. So, fertility, birth and this one was love- passion?-and this one was the symbol for a curse. She grabbed her feather quill and began translating.

* * *

**A/N: I promise the next chapter will be up soon. It's already written so the update depends entirely on the response to this chapter. (Yes, i'm evil. I am wearing a pair of light-up devil horns as i type this. No joke.)**

**Oh, oh! Yeah, listen up yo, readers. If you like my story enough to favourite, then do leave a review because umm...well, because people only read stories with lots of reviews and they won't know to read this one unless you lovely ladies (and handsome men) out there leave your mark. Plus, this story is for you guys, not for me. (Not true...I need to know what happens next!)**

**Anywho, have an awesome blossom week and eat lots of doughnuts! (Dieting is unhealthy, okay..)**

**PS: What do you guys think of Will Nussbaum? (This should have been my first question...*smacks head*) **


	5. La Vie de La France

**A/N: This is literally the longest chapter I've ever written. (3591 words! Yay!). Also, this is the quickest I've ever updated. Aren't Sundays awesome? Now, you all know i'm looking for my reward.**

**Speaking of which, I was so thrilled with the quick response to chapter 4! That's the sole reason I updated today instead of Tuesday as I'd planned. (I'm not very subtle, am I?)**

**A humongous blimp-sized thanks to all those who reviewed: senga1, Cass, Lizzy0308, Pinakamataas, Paco the Loser, lilbuddie715, lynnnnyl, TumblinDown, thestarlitrose, Li0n3ss and MustReadAndWrite. **

**And of course those who alerted/favourited: hopehathawaylovesDraco, toasted. cupcake, romiofinchel24 and CuteSecretsX **

**Anyway, over to Rose and Scorpius: **

Chapter 5:

"Okay, so you can manage that right? And don't get anything too weird, I need to actually use this stuff. Thanks a ton, Dom. See you later!"

Rose pressed the red button on her cell phone and shoved it back into the drawer she usually abandoned it in. Living in a muggle flat had its perks and one of them was that she could use muggle technology. It didn't work in Gringott's, the burrow or the ministry though so it wasn't really much use unless she was planning on sticking around in muggle London. It was however, an occasional substitute for owl post which was much slower. As much as she loved the wizarding system of communication, she had to admit it was a bit archaic.

Rose had just asked Dominique to replace her wardrobe for her. (After weighing the pros and cons, she had figured it was easier to just forgive Dom now as they would make up eventually anyway.) There was no way in hell she was wasting her free time trying on clothes and that too with Scorpius hanging around the whole time. There were too many lingerie stores out there for him to embarrass her in.

So Rose's not very wise solution had been to contact Dominique and ask her to handle it. Which was probably something she was going to regret because, a) Dom loved shopping, even for others, and would probably spend way more than Rose could afford, and b) She'd been on Rose's back to buy more sexy outfits for herself for years now and Rose had probably just unleashed a monster.

Still, clothes were clothes. How bad could it be right?

XXXXXX

Oh God. This was bad. Very bad. Rose picked up a lacy garment carefully, trying to figure out what it was.

"Dom," her voice wavered. "What is this stuff?"

"These, my friend, are clothes. Which people actually wear as opposed to those hideous burlap sacks you usually hide in."

Rose looked up, aghast, at a proud Dom, standing with her hands on her hips as if she had just vanquished a formidable enemy and was now surveying the fruits of her labor.

"But-but-"

"But nothing! Oh and I also picked up a whole lot of cosmetics and shoes. And I hope you don't mind, but I accidently wandered into this muggle shop and it had the cutest shoes ever! Jimmy-choo or something like that, it was called. I got us both the sexiest pairs ever!"

"Umm. Dom, I didn't give you any muggle money, how did you-"

Dom waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, it was easy. That stupid woman wouldn't take my galleons so I just obliviated her. Just a little bit though. I mean she'll still remember her birthday and stuff."

"_DOM!"_

"Oh Rosie," Dom chuckled gleefully. "I really missed you. Er, you're not going to hex me are you?" She added warily.

Rose deflated, sinking face first onto her bed. "No." she mumbled through her comforter. "Not quite yet. I'll get you when you're least expecting it, don't worry."

Dom laughed nervously. "Oh Rosie, you always were such a joker."

XXXXXXXXX

"Well, hello, Scorpius."

"Well, hello, Dominique." He greeted her in the same stilted tone, raising his eyebrows mockingly.

He caught the glance she shot Rose, and he was fairly sure she had just mouthed 'yummy' at her. Scorpius reigned in his smirk with a tremendous effort.

Rose had predictably begun turning red. She clearly found this situation awkward. Scorpius would have found it awkward too if he gave a damn. Which he didn't.

Dominique had been a bitch to him after _Rose _had broken up with _him._ He was perfectly aware that she was simply being a good friend to Rose and as such, he had absolutely no opinion of her. He had always found her vaguely irritating, but that was about the extent of his emotions towards Rose's best friend.

Yet here she was, years later, telling Rose that her ex-boyfriend was comparable to a blueberry muffin or whatever. Girls- can't understand 'em.

He wished for a fleeting second that Dom didn't know the reason he was living with Rose- now that would be entertaining. But of course she did, so no luck with that.

"So," Dominique said to him. "How are you liking your new job, Scorpius?"

"Very well, thank you."

Was she ever going to stop with the formalities? Scorpius felt as if he was aging slowly where he stood. If he found a grey hair when he looked in the mirror later, Weasley no. 2 was dead.

"I'm pleased to hear that." Oh, for Salazar's sake. "If you fail to perform your duties to the best of your abilities, I will personally cut off your balls and see to it that you are buried alive right next to my dead pygmy puff."

That was more like it.

"Worry not, Weasley. Rose is in good hands- the best, if I may say so myself." He purposely leered at Rose, getting the desired reaction. She squeaked in indignation and crossed her arms, clearly unsettled.

Dom looked between the two of them and seemed to be doing some math in her head. He'd better save her before her head exploded and her brain splattered the rest of them. Thinking couldn't possibly be good for someone as stupid as Dominique.

"So Weasley," He said smoothly, drawing her attention back to him. "Who's your latest boytoy? Still Macmillan, is it? Or have you moved on to bigger and better playthings now?"

Dom regarded him coolly, feathers unruffled. "I see you've been keeping up with the gossip columns. Who would have thought the mighty Malfoy liked his breakfast with a side helping of scandals."

He grinned wolfishly. This was fun. "Love 'em. Can't get enough of brainless chitchat. It's such a rarity around one as sophisticated as I, you see."

"I'm sure."

They stared each other down coolly.

Rose cleared her throat. She'd been watching the proceedings as if it were a game of catch, eyes darting between Scorpius and Dominique.

"Er, guys? If you're quite done over there, could we like, sit down or…something?"

Scorpius uncrossed his arms and spread them wide, giving her a charming smile. Her composure faltered as it did every time he looked at her directly. "Lead on, princess."

XXXXXXX

Okay, so the contents of her closet weren't _too _bad. Maybe she had exaggerated her reaction just a little bit. She had narrowed her options down to two dresses. Red or Black? Red was so….outré for a casual date but black was all 'I want to sleep with you.' She chucked the red dress back into the closet. It would probably clash with her hair anyway. It wasn't as if she could ask someone for their opinion or anything. Unless she asked Scorpius, which was clearly not going to happen anytime soon.

Eventually she settled on a pretty green dress with a drape effect and broke in the new makeup set Dom had purchased. She already had pre-date jitters which she took as a good sign. She always got jitters when she was going out with a bloke she actually liked.

Slipping on her shoes and tucking her wand into her purse, she stepped out into the living room. And stopped abruptly.

Scorpius rose gracefully from the couch and smirked at her. "Are you ready to go?"

Rose was aware that her jaw was wide open but she made no move to shut it.

"You have _got _to be kidding me."

He shot her an amused look. "What part of 'bodyguard' did you not understand, Rosie?"

"You-You can't possibly mean you're going to follow me on my date?" She spluttered.

"Oh, that is precisely what I do mean. How do you know this bloke isn't a maniac, Rose? You haven't met him for…how long has it been…two years now?" His tone was still light, but the look he gave her was serious.

"Ye-es," Rose admitted reluctantly. "But-"

"But nothing. You'll be late for your date if you don't hurry, Rosie. Besides, I don't think Uncle Harry would be too pleased if he found out you weren't cooperating."

He smiled at her sweetly and she gave a growl of frustration, throwing her hands up, knowing full well she was defeated.

XXXXXXX

At exactly 8:30, the bell rang. Rose made to open the door but Scorpius cut her off. "I'll do that, if you don't mind. It might be an axe-murderer. Oh, and remember you can't tell him I'm your personal auror."

Rose rolled her eyes and watched anxiously as Scorpius opened the door casually, with a jovial "Come in, Come in" directed at Will.

Will looked at him bewildered, obviously wondering who the hell he was. He hadn't noticed Scorpius at the bank then. "Er- Is Rose here?" He asked.

Rose stepped forward, elbowing Scorpius aside. "Here! Right here. Ready to go." She giggled manically, then stopped abruptly, realizing how stupid she sounded. Oh Merlin, he already looked scared and he'd only just entered twenty seconds ago.

"Right," Will looked confusedly between the two of them again. "Er-Shall we go then?"

"Oh absolutely!"

He offered her his arm and Rose turned to shoot Scorpius a warning glare.

"_Behave." _

The only response she received was a smirk.

"You look beautiful, Rose." Will said sincerely. "I hope you don't mind but I want to take you to this really brilliant muggle restaurant around here. And I rented a car! I love cars." He said happily.

"Oh, you can drive?" Rose was impressed. She'd tried to drive once and the car was still wrapped around the tree she'd crashed into after a hundred meters.

"Yup. I got my license when I was in the states- all the wizards drive over there. It's so much cooler than brooms, you know? You don't have to worry about whether your bits are still there when you get out of a car."

Rose laughed at that. "That's true, I suppose. I was never very good with brooms anyway. But on the other hand, I'm abysmal with cars so maybe I'll be better off just apparating."

Will chuckled and pulled out a complicated looking set of keys. He pressed a button and the car beeped once as the doors unlocked. Even Rose could tell the car was expensive, probably one of the better ones in the muggle world. The emblem on the front had a horse on it.

Will gallantly opened her door and she had one foot in before he suddenly realized Scorpius was right there.  
"Er-Is he coming as well?"

Rose closed her eyes briefly. _Dangit. _

"Yes," she said gravely. "Yes, I'm afraid he must." She tried to give him a serious look that said 'I'll explain later'. Fortunately he seemed to get the message.

"Oh umm, well. All right I suppose. Get in, then." He said to Scorpius.

Rose noted that he didn't bother opening the door for the blonde, shutting Rose's door and running over to the other side of the car to get in himself. Scorpius, completely unperturbed and still thankfully, silent, got in easily and positioned himself comfortably in the middle seat so every time Will glanced into the rearview mirror he would see him.

Will didn't say much on the drive over and Rose was already mentally smacking herself. This was never going to work. How could she have not realized that Scorpius would insist on coming along on her dates? But then, why would such an absurd thought ever even cross her mind? He was her ex-boyfriend, for Merlin's sake! Once you broke up with someone, they were supposed to stay in the rejected zone, not bounce along as third wheels on future dates.

The fact that Will didn't just pull over on the side of the road and kick the both of them out was a credit to him, as far as Rose was concerned. He attempted to start a conversation when they stopped at a red light. "It's strange driving in England, we do it the other way around in the states, you know."

"Oh, really? Is it very different here then?" Rose said, simply for the sake of saying something.

"Oh yeah. Very. You know, because it's….different."

The conversation fizzled out and very few words were exchanged for the rest of the journey.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Uh, I booked a table for two. Under the name Nussbaum?"

The maître d' looked down upon them imperiously. "I do not see two people sir, I see three."

Will tugged at his collar. "Yes, there was a change of plans and-Could you please just get us a table for two?"

The head waiter's lips tightened perceptibly. "Very well. Follow me, sirs and madam."

He led them across the French restaurant, snapping his fingers at a junior waiter every so often. The table was excellently located, tucked into a snug corner. It would have been private and romantic if there had been only two of them.

The maître d' pulled out a chair for Rose then turned to regard the two gentlemen before him. "This is highly irregular, Sirs." He said stiffly. Never in all his years at _La Vie de la France _had two men accompanied one lady on a romantic outing. It was simply not on.

Will sank into the remaining chair, apparently unconcerned about Malfoy. But Scorpius simply grabbed a chair to his left and yanked it over, sitting down casually with his legs apart and hands clasped on the table. There was a faint thumping noise as the chair's previous occupant fell to the ground.

The waiter's moustache quivered indignantly as he left to help the enormous lady clamber to her feet.

Will scratched his chin bemusedly and Rose averted her gaze, unwilling to watch the train wreck that was her love life.

"Well," Scorpius said cheerfully. "This is lovely. Very nice ambience here, I must say."

Behind him, two more waiters had now joined the fruitless quest to push the fat lady to her feet. The other occupants of her table were letting out squawks of indignation and shock.

Will cleared his throat and picked up his menu. "What would you like, Rose? I think I'll have a filet mignon."

Rose pretended to peruse her menu. "Er, me too. Could we have some alcohol? Please?"

"Good idea," Will pounced on the suggestion with obvious relief. "I could get some champagne. Or do you think they have Vodka here?"

"Oh, Vodka! Excellent. Let's ask the waiter shall we?"

All three of them turned to look at the crowd of black suited men, trying to haul the old bag up. Three more waiters had joined the fray, bravely leaping in with sleeves pushed up. The old lady was screeching what seemed to be Russian expletives.

One of the waiters noticed their gaze and gladly scurried over to them, his eyes lit with a thankful glow. "What'll you have, lady and gentlemen?" he asked, pulling out a pen enthusiastically.

"Two filet mignon and two Vodkas-Er, do you want one too?" Will turned to Scorpius and asked, suddenly realizing he didn't know what his name was.

"No, thank you." Scorpius said politely. "I don't drink on duty. I'll have a Boudin Blanc though."

The waiter nodded and repeated the order, hurrying off towards the kitchen.

"On duty? What is he talking about on duty?" Will hissed at Rose.

Scorpius feigned deafness and turned his chair to watch the proceedings behind him with interest.

Rose laughed hoarsely. "Oh pay him no mind. He's not right in the head- touched, you know. Dropped on his head when he was a baby. Poor thing thinks he's an elephant tamer."

"An….elephant tamer?" Will echoed, his voice hollow.

"Yes." Rose said sadly. "Such a pity."

"I see. And why have you brought an elephant tamer to our date?" He asked levelly.

Aah, the penultimate question. Rose squirmed in her seat and glanced at Scorpius; he was thoroughly engrossed in the wrestling match taking place at the next table. She lowered her voice further, anyway. "You see, he's been stalking me for a while now."

Will made an 'aah' sound, his eyebrows rising in a 'go on' way. "Stalking you?"

"Yes. It's been going on for a few months now and-"

"-_A few months?"_

"-the healers have advised me not to upset him too much because he may try to kill himself again. You know how these people are. Stalkers!" Rose laughed again, fearing the manic edge to her voice.

Will nodded as if he did understand, though he had no clue and they both-all- knew it.

"The poor dear, he's been through an awful lot. Do be kind to him, William." Rose placed her hand on top of his, upping the ante. "I've grown rather attached to him, you see. He's like the child I never had."

Scorpius snorted inelegantly into his water and went into a coughing fit at this point. Rose smiled fatuously at Will, extracting her hand to thump Scorpius violently on the back.

"Sorry, sorry." He mumbled, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

Rose grabbed Will's hand again and he twined their fingers together, their hands resting conspicuously on the table top. "It's alright, Rose." He said, charitably. "As long as he doesn't follow us into the bedroom as well," He joked.

It was Rose's turn to choke. She nearly spat out her mouthful of Vodka, then thinking better of it, drained her entire glass in a go. She nervously extracted her hand from his, wiping it discreetly on the napkin spread over her lap.

"Oh, would you like another Vodka?" he asked, eyeing her empty glass.

"Oh, maybe that's not such a good idea." She said breathily, kicking Scorpius' shin. There was a sharp exclamation of pain and a mumbled oath. Good.

She shot him warning looks from the side of her eyes. _Get me out of here!_ This wasn't working.

Scorpius seemed to pick up on the cue, turning his chair back around to face the table.

"I say William, old thing, it's getting frightfully late, what?"

Rose widened her eyes at him. Why was he talking like that?

"Er, what-?" Will started to say, but Scorpius cut him off. "It's getting on for time, if you know what I mean." Rose almost felt thankful, for a brief second, before he ruined it all by saying, "Rose and I must be getting back to our humble abode. The babysitter said she wouldn't stay past ten. Isn't that right, sweetums?" He reached out and caressed her cheek lovingly.

Rose turned all kinds of red. "_Scorpius Hyperion_-"

"You _live _with him?" said an outraged William. "And what's this about a babysitter?"

"Oh! Well-er-you know how it is. Haven't you ever lived with your….stalker….?"

Will looked between them, wide eyed. "You're mad." He said finally. "Both of you are stark raving bonkers." He threw down his napkin.

Rose hung her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Will." She said very quietly. "I wish it hadn't turned out like this. I really did want to have a good time today, you know. Maybe we could try it again sometime, when I'm a little less…mad?" She flicked her eyes towards Scorpius to say '_In other words, when he's not there.' _

Will looked at her for several long moments. He seemed to be sizing her up. And just when Rose had given up completely, he nodded very slowly. "Alright," He said. "We can try this again. I like you, Rose. And I'd like to see where this goes when you're…not mad." His eyes darted to Scorpius as well and the man in question offered the two of them a charming smile.

"Thank you." Rose gave his hand a tight squeeze, rising from the table.

"Shall I drive you back-?"

"No, it's alright. We'll apparate. Right, Scorpius?"

"Huh? Oh yes, absolutely." Scorpius said, nodding seriously, as if they were talking of apparating to a hospital to visit a dying relative.

"'bye, Will." On an impulse, Rose leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek and he smiled weakly at her, looking completely exhausted.

"Later, Rose." He picked up her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of it, as he had done at Gringott's and the two beamed at each other.

Scorpius made a faint gagging noise, and the spell was broken.

They left the restaurant, the waiter calling after them, "Mais Oui, what of your orders?" and the fat lady and maître d' grunting in exhaustion as they collapsed on chairs. Will waved them out, turning to deal with the indignant staff.

Once outside, Rose yanked Scorpius to the side and slammed him into the wall, taking him by surprise.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. You. Are. So. Fucking. DEAD!"

* * *

**A/N: Oh, dear. Rose really should mind her language. It's not very lady-like. Er, anyway-**

**What did you guys think of the date?**

**Did you feel sorry for Will?**

**Was Scorpius being a jerk or did he act admirably under the circumstances?**

**Did the Russian lady sue the restaurant?**

**And do you think we'll make it to 50 reviews this chapter? (Say yes! Say yes!) **

**Find out the answers to these questions and more, when we reconvene for the next episode of 4everbuddies reunite! (just disregard this last part...)**

**Er, anywho, press that lovely button down there...yes, there...(50! 50! 50! 50!) **


	6. In other news

**Thanks to all those who reviewed the last update!: silvermist76, nick55, Pinakamataas, Lizzy0308, lilbuddie715, Pal the Bad Ass, emeralda363, Cass, Mr.s Theodore Nott, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, MustReadAndWrite, Palak and lunapeacock. **

**We didn't make 50 reviews but we did make 48 which is just as awesome :D I have high hopes for this story...**

**And replies to unsigned reviews: **

**Cass- I'm so sorry, I forgot to reply to your last review! I'd already put up the chapter before I realized...I think 'Haven't you ever lived with your stalker?' was pretty much my favourite line in the last chapter. I felt bad for Will too, but then I don't really like Will( what a sucker, his own creator doesn't like him) so I think i'll draw out his pain for a bit. Anywho, quick updates and review rewards ftw! **

**Pal the bad ass- You're such a spoiler alert. If I didn't value your unconstructive(mostly) appreciation of my work, I would have banished you to th_e _fringes of the _ton, _where there is no fun to be had in life. But hush, and don't let on what happens in seven! I like seven...**

**xiexie to all those who favourited/alerted: silvermist76, somekindabeauuuutiful, blatnm, lumierelanuit, Mrs. Theodore Nott and ober22. (Review my lovelies...I see all, I know all!..Except your thoughts about this fic.) **

**Now we begin. **

**Chapter 6:**

Scorpius caught Rose's wrists as she punched every inch of him she could reach, pummeling her fists furiously and ineffectually against his chest.

"Rose-"

"NO! You don't get to say anything!"

"Rose, calm-"

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Rose heaved a shuddering breath, breathing in deeply. When she spoke again, her voice was very low. "Leave. Just please, leave."

"You know I can't do that." He said, his voice as low as hers.

"I _liked _him Scorpius." Rose's shoulders slumped with defeat. "I really did. This, this stupid, whatever the fuck this weird thing we have going on here- It's _not _working."

Scorpius' grip on her wrists tightened. "I'm sorry about Bill-"

"-His name is _Will."_

"-but it really can't be helped. You have to choose between your safety and a good time, Rose. You can't expect life to go on just the same after what you witnessed."

Rose clenched her teeth in frustration. Why did nobody get it? "I don't bloody well care about what I saw or what happened, okay? As far as I'm concerned, _nothing _happened and this is all just a huge mistake and everybody is just overreacting to a stupid situation."

Scorpius let go of her hands with a disgusted look. "This is all just a joke to you, isn't it? You really don't care what happens, do you?" He laughed mirthlessly, running an unsteady hand through his hair.

He stared her down, and she met his gaze, head on. He clenched his fists slowly. "Fine," he said finally. "Have it your way. Let's see how long you can manage on your own, Weasley."

Rose flinched at the venom in his voice. "Just go." She said, hoarsely.

Without another word, he pushed past her, heading in the opposite direction, leaving Rose alone to slump against the wall for a moment. She stood there for a full two minutes, staring blankly at the brick surface before her. Then pulling out her wand and wiping her eyes, she went back home.

XXXXXX

Scorpius didn't go very far. He leaned against a wall nearby, waiting for Rose to leave. He watched as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her; it was quite worrying. She seemed to wipe her eyes, before turning on the spot and vanishing with a crack.

He sighed and rested his head against the surface behind him. He wouldn't be leaving her alone, that much was for sure. He knew she needed her space right now but human considerations like that simply didn't matter when it came to life and death.

And this was definitely life and death. Scorpius, unlike Rose, had read the case notes and followed up on each murder. That's what he had been assigned to before accepting this job and he knew exactly how dangerous the killer was. If it was indeed, the same psycho after Rose, he didn't really know how she stood a chance. And for reasons he was not willing to admit to himself, that scared him. It scared him a lot.

Pulling out his wand, he apparated back to her flat and prepared himself for an uncomfortable night on her doorstep.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Rose turned the hot water knob to its limit. Maybe if the water was hot enough, it would somehow wash away last night's memories. It didn't really make any sense, as far as solutions went, but nothing else made much sense either so she supposed that was alright.

She recalled the way she'd treated Scorpius with a grimace. It hadn't been his fault- well, not entirely, anyway- that she'd been so utterly humiliated. It would have happened regardless of who her bodyguard was. Bodyguard- that was a term that took some getting used to. It just sounded so….well, kinky.

Rose shivered and tried to yank the hot water knob to the right; it didn't budge. Cursing, she reached for her wand and waved it, without really thinking. The water gushed out, scalding and she yelped, jumping backwards. Her foot slipped from under her and she crashed into the curtain behind her, the rod holding it up tumbling down, knocking the contents of the shelves down with a massive clatter and clanging. Rose shrieked as a mountain of shower products toppled on top of her, closely followed by the curtain and its rod.

"Fuck!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scorpius jerked awake, his neck aching from the awkward position he'd left it in. He looked around blearily. Scorpius Malfoy- reduced to sleeping on doorsteps like a homeless vagrant. He'd heard something though, he was fairly sure of that. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a clanging sound resounded from inside the flat.

Pulling out his wand in a panic, he blasted the door open and ran in, screeching to a halt in the middle of the living room. "ROSE?" He called out.

There was a horrible clattering sound from her bedroom, as if multiple objects were falling from their places and a loud shriek followed by an exclamation.

Barging into her empty bedroom, he spotted another door and rammed it down. And stopped.

Of course. It was the bathroom.

He stared down at the scene in front of him, trying his hardest not to laugh: Rose lay buried under a mound of bottles and soap dishes, and if he was right, she was wearing only a shower curtain.

"Fucking bitching ruddy HELL! How bloody perfect-"Her eyes swiveled towards the door, spitting fire. "MALFOY!"

Damn. He'd been spotted.

"Get out of here! OUT!"

Narrowly dodging a flying shampoo bottle, he ducked out of the washroom, unable to hold in his laughter.

XXXXXXXXXX

Scorpius was smirking when she finally stepped out of the washroom, wrapped in a towel.

"Do you mind?" She demanded rudely.

"Not at all." He said smoothly. "By all means, continue."

She glared at him and he simply smirked back at her.

Deep breath, Rose. Deep breath. She walked stiffly to her cupboard and clutching a pair of clothes to her chest as if they were a lifeline, she sidled back into the bathroom, glaring at him suspiciously the whole way.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You know-"

"No."

"I was-"

"Don't. Say. A. Word."

"Come on, Rosie. It wasn't that bad. It was quite-"

Rose shot him an evil glare and Scorpius promptly shut up. Some things were just not worth risking. In any case, he didn't really have to do much. Every time he so much as glanced at her, she would turn beet red and begin flipping through the book spread open on her desk. He didn't have to be a legilimens to know that she was embarrassed. Embarrassed was an understatement, of course, but Scorpius wasn't a thesaurus either.

Amused, he flipped through his own book. The notable difference between the two was that while he was reading a thriller novel, Rose's tome went by the cumbersome title of _Runic translations in the 16__th__ century: A study, guide and thorough analysis. _

She didn't seem to do much at work, he noted idly. She had been sent into the underground chambers once to reconfigure the Thief's Downfall and he'd followed of course, but that had been it. She seemed to spend most of her time translating runes which probably weren't even curses in the first place, as a sort of freelance activity.

Scorpius knew a fair bit about cursebreaking and he was pretty sure it didn't involve sitting at desks, doing ancient runes homework. The Rose he'd known would have scoffed at the very idea of a desk job. But he, like any other person, had read the papers last year, with detailed articles following the discovery of that Egyptian pyramid-whatever it was called- and Rose's part in it. If there was one thing the Potter-Weasley clan tended to attract, it was media attention. And he hadn't been the only one to notice how she'd been brushed off to the side. It was quite surprising actually, considering she probably held more strings than most people in wizarding Britain and could pull them at any time.

Looking at her now, he observed the way she twitched her quill irritably every few seconds. Her free hand was drumming a beat against the table and every so often a nearby goblin would shoot her an exasperated glare. She hissed in frustration, puffing out her cheeks slightly. Scorpius was struck for the millionth time that morning, by the image of her half-covered form in the shower and he was seized again with a strange urge to both laugh at and kiss her.

Scorpius actually grimaced as this thought crossed his mind, and he pushed it away hastily. He'd managed perfectly well so far by simply refusing to acknowledge that she still, somehow, managed to hold a certain fascination for him. It had been five years since they'd been 'in love' and when you were only just starting out in life, that was a pretty long time.

After she'd broken up with him, accusing him unjustly-for the most part-, he'd been flat out confused for days. And then he'd been mad. He had tried, multiple times, to bring up the topic with her but it seemed that every time he managed to corner her in an empty classroom or a deserted hallway, she suddenly had a detention she was late for or a friend who was in dire need of her assistance.

He'd given up after a while. He wasn't used to chasing things which clearly did not wish to be pursued. If there was one thing he'd picked up early on in life, it was the ability to write things off with a heavy heart but clear conscience.

It hadn't been easy- the hostile silences had gradually developed into severe dislike and then a mutual hate and lack of tolerance for the other party. It hadn't ended with their Hogwarts careers, though. For a year after, the merest mention of anything to do with Roses, of the human or botanical variety, had induced an intense mix of hatred and desire in him.

But in the intervening four years, the sharp edge of his anger had dulled to a sore spot and then eventually, indifference. Seeing her now though, was bringing back some of his old emotions, and for reasons Scorpius couldn't fathom, anger wasn't one of them.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Scorpius blinked and pulled himself back to the present. Rose was looking at him oddly, quill poised over parchment.

"Oh yeah," he said casually, waving his hand in her general direction. "Right there, see? It's huge actually, looks like a monkey hanging off your face. Can't believe you didn't notice. Let's ask Nigbit. Hey, Nigbit!"

"What? No way! What are you talking about…-"

"Foolish humans. Wasting my time with your childish play-"

"But you do agree, right? I mean it's _huge-"_

"-never have allowed wizards at a goblin-run institution-"

XXXXXXXX  
"You're a wanker."

"Yes, you may have mentioned that a few times on the way over."

"Well that's because you're a wanker."

"I had no idea."

Rose muttered intelligibly under hear breath but Scorpius was pretty sure he caught the word wanker twice more.

She shouldered the door open, moving into the hallway and chucking her keys on the table.

"I can't believe you got me in trouble with my boss!" She muttered angrily, shrugging off her jacket.

"Whatever, it's not as if he can assign you lines or something. Haven't you ever been scolded by a supervisor before? Merlin…"

Rose sniffed haughtily. "I, unlike your royal pratness, never get into work related quarrels. I find it makes for an unhealthy work environment."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and moved into his room, shoving the door open.

He paused with his hand on the door, then took a few steps back, pulling the door with him. When he'd left, he had closed the bedroom door fully but it was ajar now; he hadn't needed to twist the handle to open it.

Drawing his wand, he stepped cautiously into the room again. Everything seemed to be in place and pulling open drawers and cabinets, nothing seemed to be missing. If he hadn't been trained to be paranoid, he would have assumed nothing was wrong and gone on his merry way. But he was an auror and paranoia was something that could save one's life on the field. He'd learned many times over not to disregard his overtly suspicious nature.

"Scorpius!" He spun around at the sound of Rose's voice, immediately returning to the main room.

She was standing over the dining table, looking down intently at what seemed to be the day's edition of the daily prophet.  
"What is it?"

"This…Look at this." She gestured toward the spread out section of the paper, her posture unusually tense. Scorpius felt a grim sense of foreboding as he edged forward to look at the article.

The headline immediately caught his eye:

**Former Death Eater dead- toll reaches 11**

He snatched up the paper, reading through the article quickly.

Below the headline was a picture of a scowling Theodore Nott- Scorpius recognized him with a lurch in the pit of his stomach. He'd know the Nott's- they were close acquaintances of the Malfoys.

_The mystery killer has struck again. Theodore Nott of 'Nott's and Crosses' fame was found dead by his wife Elaine Nott on Friday night at 11:05 pm. The panicked woman contacted emergency services but the team of aurors pronounced him dead at the scene. _

_The wizarding world is outraged as the death toll continues to rise with the authorities no closer to apprehending the elusive murderer than they were six months ago. Head of the Auror department, Harry Potter, had this to say when questioned about the ministry's progress: "We're working on it. We have a few substantial leads and it may culminate in a breakthrough very soon. We ask the wizards of Britain for their patience and cooperation and once again remind them to abide by the safety precautions issued by the Ministry of Magic. Pureblooded families are in particular, advised to be cautious and set up basic wards around their residences. If witness to an attack, you are urged to alert the ministry and seek our protection immediately."_

_While Mr. Potter's words may offer reassurance to some, many others remain unconvinced. Says one Mrs. Gertrude Trimble, "It's all tosh, the ministry is absolutely useless. We'll all be dead in another month, you mark my words."_

_Mrs. Trimble's sentiments while extreme are substantiated by the fact that the minister, Oswald Beamish, had only this to say to our reporter: "Eh? Another one? Very well, very well. Now, be off with you, I'm a busy man. Betty, what's keeping that dratted tea?"_

_Amos Diggory however, is of the opinion that the former death eaters deserve their 'comeuppance' and the world could do without these 'shameful blemishes' on the face of democracy and justice-_

Scorpius stopped reading and set the paper back down. Rose was watching him, nervously biting her bottom lip; No sooner had he looked up then she launched into a torrent of words. "Scorp, I didn't put this paper here, I don't even subscribe to the bloody prophet- not since they started publishing that junk about my personal life- did you notice anything weird around the house?"

Scorpius hesitated. If he told her that he suspected someone had indeed been in the flat, he would scare her unnecessarily. On the other hand, if he didn't tell her, she would kill him when- if- she did find out and perhaps it wasn't exactly an 'unnecessary' scare. She wasn't exactly taking this whole killer business seriously anyway. He was left with two options: deal with the problem himself, making sure it didn't happen again or just tell her and achieve nothing while she panicked and convinced herself there wasn't really much point of his being there if the man continued to traipse in and out of her apartment as he pleased.

He settled on shaking his head. "Nope, nothing. I left the paper on the table in the morning, completely forgot about it."

He shrugged apologetically and Rose frowned at him suspiciously. "Well, okay. If you say so. Anyway, what do you think of this? Do you know what lead Uncle Harry is talking about? You were on that case before right…-"

Scorpius only half-listened as he mentally berated himself for letting the man past him. What kind of auror was he? He had allowed Rose to distract him from his duties but this was the wake-up call he'd needed. He reminded himself again of the reason he had taken this assignment in the first place. This wouldn't happen again, he thought grimly. He'd make sure of that.

* * *

**A/N: I promise some action in the next chapter! Out of all the uploaded ones, chapter seven is my favourite by far.**

**Now, just as a premature warning, things get a bit darker in the next segment of the story. So while there may not be too many moments for fun dates and tripping in showers, there will be other, hopefully better things...**

**Also, my profuse apologies to Mrs. Theodore Nott, the killing of your husband was carried out in the best interest of all concerned parties...(namely, us.)**

**Now review, darn you, so I'll feel inclined to put up seven as soon as possible!**

**PS- Are you guys going to start guessing on what the identity of the killer is anytime soon? Oh God, that'll be such good fun for me...**


	7. Duel

**Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter, the way I own the Eiffel tower or a decent pair of sunglasses. I.e., not at all. **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed: senga1, Lizzy0308, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, lilbuddie715, Pinakamataas, x-rayLady, Mrs. Theodore Nott, Li0n3ss, emeralda363, Cass, Nanita, SaruDM and silvermist76. Keep reviewing you guys, I love hearing from each and every one of you! :D**

**And all those who favourited/alerted: roxirigirl, scentasia, x-rayLady, SaruDM, SunAndMoonGuardian, alexypalexy and smunlucky13.**

**I'm a bit nervous about this chapter so be sure to let me know what you think of the ending!**

* * *

Chapter 7:

Rose watched as Scorpius paced around the small flat, waving his wand in the general direction of the walls and ceiling. He'd been at it for twenty minutes now and every time she'd asked him what exactly he was up to, he'd just shot her a look that said _shut-up _and continued muttering under his breath.

Rose followed his path with her eyes, her frown growing more pronounced. What the bloody fuck was the man doing? She crossed her arms nervously, then uncrossed them a moment later. Scorpius glanced at her and her arms automatically went across her front again. Irritated, she considered dropping the defensive stance then chucked the idea. She couldn't help it if her body language betrayed her unease at having him around, especially after the disastrous morning.

Even now, the memory stained her cheeks a vivid red. He had walked in on her- in the bloody _shower. _What were the odds of that? Okay, so granted, they were living together- no, scratch that, 'living together' made it sound as if they were carrying on a torrid love affair. They were sharing a domicile- yes, that would do- so naturally there would have been some sort of awkward encounter sooner or later. But did it really have to happen in the one place where people were at their most vulnerable? Couldn't she have a nice soak in the tub or a hot shower without having to worry about ex-boyfriends bursting in, waving their wands about?

Speaking of which, how had he turned up there so quickly anyway? He hadn't spent the night in the flat…but he had been close enough to hear her screaming like an idiot…As Rose's mind closed in on the mortifying conclusion, Scorpius finally stopped talking to himself and turned to face her.

"Well, now what have you been raving about for the past half hour? And why is your face so red? Imagining me in the shower?" He smirked at her and predictably, Rose turned even redder, knowing he'd slipped in the word 'shower' on purpose.

"That would make any female blush I suppose," he continued in a mock-humble tone. "I mean, I do have quite the physique after all- why, just ask the string of lovely ladies petitioning for my hand."

Rose found this statement to be incredibly awkward but Malfoy didn't seem perturbed by his words at all. Either he was so completely over her that her presence didn't affect him in the slightest or he was still the same old Scorpius, who seemed completely oblivious to social cues and past mishaps.

Not to say that he was socially awkward, he clearly wasn't….Rose had no trouble at all in believing that he did indeed have a line of 'lovely ladies' or in other words, gold-diggers, after him. She'd fallen for his charms once too- bloody manipulative, lying scumbag.

Garnering absolutely no verbal response from Rose, Scorpius shrugged and twirled his wand between his fingers.

"Now that I've strengthened the wards, we can get down to business."

"Er- what? Why do you need to strengthen the wards, I think they're perfectly fine." Rose said, distracted by the random urge to punch him. Was that normal? Was it acceptable to want to punch men for no reason at all? What if it wasn't? Merlin, what if something was terribly wrong with her and she would be doomed to live out the rest of her days in an asylum after physically assaulting the Minister!

Not that that would be a pity. Assaulting the minister, that is. The man was as effective in his post as a sack of potatoes would have been. The potatoes would have been more attractive at any rate.

She was brought back to the present by the sound of Scorpius scoffing. "Perfectly fine? Your stalker's gotten past the wards at least twice and you think it's all fine and dandy, do you?"

"Well…." Rose said slowly, not wanting to admit that she actually agreed with him. The wards were clearly not good enough.

"Anyway, I've put up much stronger ones now so we ought to be fine. Now what we really need to do, is duel."

Rose laughed, surprised. "You know, I could have sworn you just said you wanted to duel me. Isn't that ridiculous? Why would you-er, oh… You did say duel didn't you?"

Rose petered off feebly as Scorpius gave her a condescending smirk.

"Yes, Weaselette, I _did _say duel. If memory serves correct, your dueling skills are abysmal and roughly at par with those of a dimwitted third year."

Rose gaped at him, completely thrown. "Hey!" She protested. "That's a lowblow! And I don't suck that much, for your information. I have improved _vastly_ since our days at Hogwarts. Vastly. Yeah."

She nodded self-righteously, highly offended. Stupid prat, what did he know?

And she'd beat him in every other field of magic anyway….except Quidditch. Quidditch and dueling were her two weak points, the only places she had failed to live up to her dad's expectations. He'd been sorely disappointed that both his children pretty much sucked at the sport.

"Yes, I'm sure you're an expert now," Scorpius said smoothly. "But regardless, -_expelliarmus." _

Rose's wand flew out of her hand traitorously, landing neatly in his outstretched palm.

"I wasn't ready!"

"Exactly my point," He said, beginning to sound bored. "Now will you shut it and let me do my job?"

Rose flushed angrily, retaliating with words. "Your job, huh? Of course." She laughed, not finding the situation remotely funny; he was attacking her in her weak spot. "Great job on that by the way- you landed yourself a pretty cushy job after all. How much are they paying you to babysit me, I wonder? Enough to finance your petty pureblood indulgences? Tell me, Malfoy, stepped on any other hearts lately?"

Scorpius' eyes flashed and Rose knew she'd pushed it too far. She wasn't even sure why she'd flown off the handle like that- except for the fact that having her mistakes, her flaws pointed out to her, especially by _him, _wasn't something she took kindly to. Apparently being a total bitch was her default defense mechanism.

Looking at him now, Rose felt an unfamiliar trickle of dread creeping in, dispelling some of her misdirected anger. He looked positively furious- ready to kill. He was still gripping both their wands, his knuckles white and jaw clenched. Then, just like that, as if something had sucked out all his anger, his shoulders relaxed and his face was covered with the all too familiar blank mask.

"If you're quite done," He said coldly, "I'd like for us to begin."

Rose nodded meekly, knowing that now was not the moment to push this topic. Judging by his hostile reaction, their turbulent past was one can of flobberworms he didn't intend to open with her.

He passed her the Blackwood wand, the handle warm from the heat of his hand as she clutched it.  
"I'm assuming you know the basic protective enchantments, as you probably have to use them in your line of work. I'm going to attack you and you're going to defend yourself. Understood?"

Rose nodded, noting that his voice sounded oddly detached and mechanical. Before she could dwell on it, a jet of purple light flew from his wand and struck her shoulder. She stumbled back from the impact, her legs banging against a hard surface.

"Pathetic." He sneered. "Can't even stop a simple ramming spell."

Another spell left his wand, then another and another. She dodged them as best as she could, her panic clouding her judgement. She knew she ought to throw up a shield but when she was dueling, when she was being attacked by a real live _person, _all her common sense and training just seemed to leave her. She felt that if she stopped moving for even a second, she would die. It was ridiculous and irrational but there it was- the crux of the matter: Rose Weasley simply could not duel.

A jet of green light missed her by a centimeter and in her panicked state, she imagined for a second that it was an unforgivable. She stumbled over a chair leg and Scorpius' next spell struck her, square in the chest. Her eyes burned with the conjunctivitus curse, and waving her wand on pure instinct, she finally managed to cast a shield charm. She could feel the power radiating through the centre of the room, even with her eyes closed.

Casting the counter curse, she lifted her lids, wiping her streaming eyes. Scorpius was standing on the other side of the translucent partition, arms crossed and gaze hostile.

No sooner had she gotten her bearings, than he had started his assault again, bringing down her shield charm within moments.

"That's an improvement, I suppose." She heard him say, over the rush of adrenaline flowing through her veins. "Of course, if this was a real duel, you'd have been dead ten minutes ago, but I'm-"

She drowned out the rest of his words and focused on him. He'd stopped when she had and this cleared her mind, bringing reason back into the picture. He wasn't here to hurt her, nobody was casting unforgivables and she was a capable witch who never had trouble casting spells outside of a fight.

She threw up another shield to meet his curse and confidence growing, cast a hex of her own. It was a weak attempt and he dispelled it with a lazy flick of his wand, but he looked at her almost approvingly.

Instead of encouraging her, this made her mad. He was acting so- so condescending! As if he was better than her, just because there was one thing he could do which she couldn't. As if it was a miracle if Rose Weasley managed to cast one bloody jinx during combat.

The rage cleared the last of the fear from her mind and she fired her own volley of curses at him. He blocked them all of course, but for the first time it looked as if he was actually paying attention.

"Very good, Rose." He sneered. "You can cast basic spells. Planning on levitating a feather next?"

Fury clouded her vision and she cast recklessly, forgetting to defend herself. He sidestepped her hex neatly but his _Impedimenta _struck her squarely and she hit the wall behind her, her insides seeming to crumple from the vicious blow. Pain clawed at her chest, overriding her senses for a moment.

Her wand clattered from her loose grip and she shakily drew air into her lungs. Her eyes burned with tears of pain but she refused to let them fall, willing them away.

Footsteps crunched closer towards her as Scorpius made his way through the wrecked room. Rose's chest burned in humiliation, and she waited for him to sneer at her and call her weak, maybe even laugh at her.

Instead, a pale arm pervaded her field of vision and grasped her around the waist, lifting her gently.

"Well," Scorpius said conversationally. "That was fun."

XXXXXXX

Rose lay propped up against her pillows, silently fuming. She was absolutely mortified.

Never, never had she been beaten so completely in a duel- mostly because she managed to avoid them for most of her Hogwarts career, but that was besides the point.

After the annoying prat had helped her up, he had made her humiliation complete by insisting on tending to her wounds. All his anger from earlier had vanished so completely that for a moment Rose found herself wondering if she had imagined the whole thing.

Yes, she decided. She had taken a fall down the stairs and hit her head, her concussed brain entertaining her with all sorts of delusional episodes. She hadn't just had her arse handed to her by Scorpius bloody Malfoy and she wasn't being babied by said aggravator.

The door clicked open, and the man himself entered, his expression of concern and the slightest hint of amusement, dispelling her hopes.

How could he have the bloody nerve to be _amused _about this? His mood swings were incredibly worrying. Maybe he was actually a woman. Oh Merlin, she'd snogged a woman…at least she had never slept with him…

He sat down gently next to her, taking care not to jostle the mattress, his familiar musky scent one hundred percent male. If he was a girl, he was quite good at hiding it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

Rose gritted her teeth. He was talking to her as if she was a mentally disturbed patient lying on her death bed or a simpering child who cried over every boo-boo.

Having elicited no response from her, save a murderous glare, he half-smiled and extracted a silver container from his pocket.

"Turn around." He ordered.

"Why?" Rose asked sourly.

"Well, your bruises aren't going to heal themselves are they? I need to apply this ointment."

"Actually," Rose said snarkily. "My bruises are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. And my bruises want nothing more to do with you."

Scorpius actually had the nerve to chuckle at that. "Well, that's just too bad for them, then. I'm not taking no for an answer." He unscrewed the lid of the tub, revealing a minty green paste. "Oh, and take your shirt off."

Rose gawked at him, spluttering indignantly. "W-WHAT?"

"You heard me. The shirt-off."

"Wha-NO. Are you completely insane? First you _assault _me, slam me into a wall, completely _annihilate _my ego and now you want me to strip for you? Do you have a death wish, Malfoy?"

Rose glared at him, unable to utter another word, from the sheer indignation building up in her. He really was asking for a whooping today wasn't he?

Scorpius tutted patiently. "Don't be difficult, Rosie. It's not as if there's anything I haven't seen before. In fact," he added brightly, "You could wear the shower curtain if it makes you feel better."

Rose gave him an evil look. He was _this _close to having her hands wrapped around his neck- and not in a passionate embrace either- in a _why won't you stop breathing and die already? _kind of way.

"Look," he said setting the tub to the side. "I'm really sorry. I had no right to take my anger out at you in the way I did….It was despicable and I regret it."

Rose's temper flared. "Oh you're _sorry_? You regret it, so that makes it alright, does it? If you Avada someone tomorrow, it's alright as long as you feel sad about it, is it?"

Scorpius met her gaze steadily, his eyes conveying a sense of anguish he hadn't expressed verbally. "Nothing makes it alright, Rose." He said softly. "Just please let me help you."

Rose stared at him for a few more moments, mentally appraising his sincerity. She inclined her head almost imperceptibly. Then slowly, she turned her back to him and pulled off her shirt, wincing with the movement. She thought she heard a sharp intake of breath from behind her, but craning her neck around, she could only see Scorpius diligently scooping out the green paste, his eyes on the bottle.

She jumped a little as the cold ointment touched her skin. His other hand came up to grasp her shoulder gently, steadying her. Rose clenched her hands in her lap and stared fixedly at the wall in front of her, counting the slight cracks. One…two…three…four…

His fingers moved in a slow, circular motion across her bare skin, leaving behind a burning sensation despite the coolness of the medicine.

Five….six….seven….

His hands moved lower, gently massaging her lower back. Rose wondered if he was even using the cream anymore. Her nerve endings were on fire and she could feel each of them lighting up as his hands trailed over her skin.

Eight….nine…seven….was that seven?

Rose exhaled slowly, the breath coming out in shuddering gasps as his hands moved around her waist. She felt his warm arms encircle her as he lowered his head against her neck, cradling her to his chest.

She felt his breath against her skin as he kissed her shoulder and said something so softly she barely caught it. _"I'm sorry."_

The cool air rushed in against her skin, unwelcome and invasive as he let go of her, standing abruptly. Rose continued to stare at the wall in front of her as his footsteps faded and the door clicked softly.

Ten…eleven…twelve….

* * *

**A message from the one and hopefully the only, Pal The Bad Ass:**

**If any of you have read the reviews of this story, you'll probably know me. If you havent, then I feel sorry for you. Im Pal The Bad Ass. Im Annevader's real life as well as virtual life stalker. Quite like how Scorpious is Rose's stalker in this story. Except that we dont have a romantic history. And will never have one either. That's because a) We dont swing that way (Im a girl) and b) She's like the kid sister I never had. So when I caught her in the most noble act of uploading Chapter 7 i couldnt help but hijacking her workspace for a while. She has been quite...apprehensive (to put it mildly) about this chapter. Really, our other friend Palak (who has inspired many chapters of this fic.) literally had to perform...a show of sorts to calm Annevader down. It was highly amusing. Im kidding. That never happened. But since this all a work of fiction, i guess I can say whatever I want right? No? Well, who cares.**

**Okay Annevader is calling me now. She wants me to leave you alone. And to tell you to REVIEW. Really, I just saw the number of views and Im APPALLED that you dont review! Why? **

**Really. Review NOW or Ill have to show you just HOW Bad Ass I am. (Im a fan of Puckerman from Glee. Sue me.)**

**A/N: I apologize. Really. Just...yeah. **


	8. Persistent Insistence

**A/N: Thanks for all the brilliant reviews! The response to the last chapter was amazing, I'm glad you guys liked the Scorpius-Rose interaction. I'm horrible for not replying to all of your reviews individually, but trust me when I say that I read, appreciated and loved each and every one of them- keep them coming guys :D - XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Love without expectation, scentasia, silvermist76, Missdagane, senga1, Nanita, SaruDM, x-rayLady, lilbuddie715, manzjonz, Mrs. Theodore Nott, dobbyfish, LJBC, Pinakamataas, pops and Lunapeacock.**

**And of course, all those who favourited/alerted: Nanita, shelly1224, manzjonz, Rebk famafiana, Lilybet Edyvean, , lynnnnyl, xiLynnx, letita28, luvskittles35 and jlang222. Wow, picked up a lot of new readers last time round. Do leave reviews, guys! **

**Now, Onwards! And beyond...**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

The clankers rattled, the loud noise echoing around the chamber. The cowed dragon reared back, a tendril of flame spurting from its nostrils as it shrunk against the wall.

Rose felt a pang of sympathy for the creature as it almost shook in fear, dreading the lashes it had been trained to expect.

Ragnook swung the lamp around, handing the clankers to Scorpius. Rose averted her eyes quickly, trying to tamp down the turmoil in her chest; she had work to do.

"Follow me…follow me…" murmured the goblin.

The richly dressed woman stepped forward, her long strides halting every few seconds to allow Ragnook to stay ahead of her. Rose had met her before, was familiar with the wards around her vault and yet had never seen the woman's face; always, it was covered with a low hood.

The goblin stroked the door of vault 937 with a stubby index finger, the locks whirling out of place and retreating into the wall. Ragnook half turned towards his audience. "Miss Weasley…"

Rose stepped forward, noticing Scorpius shift subtly behind her as if he'd made to follow then stopped himself. Focusing her mind on the portal of the vault, she sketched in the glowing runes with her wand, rearranging the combination of panels with a flick. The massive iron door split down the middle, each halve sliding into the wall alongside it.

The woman inclined her head in Rose's direction and stepped into the vault. The door immediately materialized, sealing her in. The first time Rose had witnessed this, she had nearly panicked. Horror stories of trapped souls had flooded her mind. How many people had died in the underground chambers?

But in the high security vaults, even goblins were not allowed in- only the proprietor. And 937 was one of the most secure vaults in the building.

Rose fidgeted nervously, glancing occasionally at the half blind dragon. It was lying docilely against the wall, its posture bearing an absurd similarity to that of a resting dog's. It wasn't the depth of the chambers or the creatures inhabiting it that scared her- she'd gotten used to that. But this dragon in particular, the Hebridean Black, had been a lot of trouble. It was acting suspiciously complacent for once though, as if it hadn't roasted and eaten the last visitor.

The sound of a gong echoed from within the vault and Ragnook and Rose repeated the procedure, unlocking the vault to allow the woman to exit.

They returned to the cart, silent and alert. This place was dangerous- and Rose couldn't get enough of it. She rarely went into the bottom most levels- only when the vault was an extremely secure one with cursed wards but each time she did, it reminded her again of exactly why she had taken up curse-breaking. It was the thrill, the adventure of it, which gave her goosebumps and made her feel _alive. _Admittedly, she would have been more content with the mummies in Egypt, but the lower levels of Gringott's weren't exactly the Kensington Gardens.

They piled into the carts and it jerked away, a cross between a rollercoaster and the knight bus, barreling through the twisted planes of each floor, rounding bends with such force, that everyone except Ragnook felt the need to hold on to some part of the death trap.

The trolley finally screeched to a halt and the shaky group clambered out, stepping through the wide arch into the brightly lit interior of Gringott's. The lady collected her key from Ragnook and waving farewell with a gloved hand, swanned out of the exit, emitting an aura of satisfaction.

Rose sighed in disappointment as she took her place behind the boring desk again. It wasn't just the thrill she got from being down there which made her want to jump back into the blasted cart, it was also the fact that it was really very good at occupying her mind, preventing it from lingering on the bloke next to her.

Chancing a half glance at him, she took a moment to admire the way the sunlight filtering through the arched windows illuminated the planes of his face, casting one half into shadows.

He caught her looking and she imagined for a moment that he'd _smiled _at her. Not smirked, sneered or leered, but smiled. The smile was gone the next second, replaced with a sardonic raising of his eyebrows and a smug look.

Rose looked away, heart racing. Every time she thought of the way he had tried to hurt her in the duel, she was filled with a choking rage. And then she'd remember how he had held her and whispered his apology so quietly and so sincerely she almost felt she'd imagined it. Her anger would die down, replaced with a bewildering confusion. Why had he done that? Why had he wanted to hurt her? Why had he apologized the way he had? And what did it all mean?

Rose shook her head to clear it of the relentless barrage of questions, none of which had answers she could provide. The way he had acted yesterday could mean that he hated her but loved her, if that made any sense. But the way he was acting today made it seem as if he didn't care about her either way. She kneaded her forehead, trying to rid it of the dull throb building up in her right temple. This was too confusing to think about.

"D'you need a headache potion?"

She jumped startled, at the sound of Scorpius' voice, not taking in a word he'd said. "Er-what?"

He gave her a blank look. "Headache potion- Do you need one?"

"N-no. I'm fine. Just fine. Great! Dandy! And you?" Rose looked around nervously, wishing she could hex herself into shutting up permanently. Why was she babbling?

"I'm just great, thank you. Even better since yesterday."

Rose's head snapped up, eyes widening in shock. Had he really just said that?

She licked her dry lips. "W-what?"

Scorpius gave her a look of confusion. "Well, you know, I had that slight cough yesterday…it's much better today." He said brightly.

Rose laughed hoarsely. "Yeah. Of course. The cough."

What cough?

He'd been acting like this the whole day; acting as if he had forgotten all about the day before, then casually slipping in a sentence which seemed to hint at yesterday's events. As soon as she'd become flustered though, he'd throw in some banal and probably fabricated event which had apparently occurred instead.

Rose felt like punching him for acting so obtuse and she would have too, if it hadn't reminded her of their fight and the subsequent episode in her room and his reaction today. It all just came full circle.

"Is it painful?"

Her gaze snapped to him, hostile. Oh, Great. He was doing it again. What was the punch line this time?

She opened her mouth to retort but he cut her off with a "The bruises, I mean. Does it still hurt?"

He looked genuinely anxious as he added the last bit, as if he'd had enough of the joking. Rose considered not responding. It would serve him right, the stupid prat. But she wasn't as immature as him.

"No." Rose said in clipped tones. "It's much better today. It must have been the…cream."

She felt the warmth creeping up her neck and cleared her throat, shuffling random papers strewn across her desk.

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed, his tone serious. "It must have been the cream. Hey, I have a great idea!"

Rose eyed him warily. "….do I want to know?"

He nodded eagerly. "Of course! Why don't you get a massage? I know this really great place a few streets down, they do a wonderful-"

Rose blanched. ANOTHER joke. She was going to _kill _him.

"Shut up!" She hissed, looking around to see if Nigbit was hovering nearby.

Scorpius shut up obediently, still nodding brightly. "Okay." He said.

Rose stared at him disbelievingly. He really did love taking the mick didn't he? Fine. If he wanted to play, she would play.

"Why did you do it?" She asked bluntly.

"Do what?" A smirk flitted across his face briefly.

"You know what I'm talking about." She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to keep a straight face.

Scorpius shifted slightly in his seat, leaning forward a bit. "No, I don't know. Care to elaborate?"

"Don't act so dumb Scorpius. We both know what you did and now I want an explanation." This was fun!

"What are you saying, Weasley?" The look he gave her was severe. Was he warning her to not drag the subject up? Oh well, too bad.

"_Why," _Rose said quietly, leaning towards him, "did you tell the postman I used to be 'Robert' just three years ago?"

Scorpius' mouth opened slightly in surprise. Rose pushed her tongue into her cheek, trying her hardest to not laugh at the expression on his face. He gave her an approving look and she smirked impishly at him. The only thing was, he really had told the postman that...

Scorpius smirked back at her. "Very good, Rosie. And a postman, is that who he was? He was quite insistent on getting your autograph, I thought he was a fan boy or something…"

Rose couldn't help the laugh which crossed her lips. "My autograph? Scorp, you dolt, he wanted me to sign for a delivery. That's how the muggles do it."

Scorpius shook his head exasperatedly. "Muggles…."He muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing?"

"Good."

"But," Rose said, raising her eyebrows. "It's odd that you would tell a fanboy that I used to be a man."

Scorpius shrugged lazily, not offering an explanation.

Rose rolled her eyes. Enough of the joking. She really did need answers. "Scorp," she said seriously, her tone catching his attention. "What was that yesterday? And I'm not talking about the postman or your non-existent cough or massage parlours. I'm serious about this."

Rose gave him a level look. He regarded her thoughtfully for a full minute. He parted his lips to respond. "Rose, I-"

"Rosie!"

Both of them swiveled to face the newcomer. Rose cursed the interruption. Just when she'd been about to get her answers too…she glanced at him but he'd clammed up again, gazing hostilely in the direction of her visitor.

Rose turned to regard the man in front of her, almost having forgotten he was there. She recognized him with a jolt of surprise.

"Will! What brings you here?"

"Well, Rosie-" Rose cringed at his usage of her nickname. Somehow it sounded odd when Will said it. "I just wanted to see you again. I mean I realize our last date didn't go off too well, but- _what is he doing here?_"

He was staring at something to her right, eyes wide. Scorpius! Shit!

"Stalking," Rose blurted immediately, looking between the two. Will was staring at the blonde, face ashen and Scorpius was just smiling back genially, his expression tinged with sarcasm.

Crap, Crap, Crap!

"He-I-Rose, how can he follow you to work?"

Rose shrugged helplessly. "Fragile mental state, you know…." She mumbled incoherently.

This was not good. What if Will saw through her lame-ass cover story? How could he _not _see through her lame-ass cover story?

Will tossed Scorpius a nasty look and resolutely turned his back on him.  
"Rosie,"-insert cringe-"I was thinking that maybe we could go out again-_alone, _this time. I mean, not _alone _of course. With each other. Obviously. Er-You get my point, I'm sure."

"Oh, Will. I thought you didn't want to see me again, until er-until, this one stops following me."

Will grimaced, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You make it sound so terrible. That's not what I meant Rose. I've had a think about it since our date and I really feel that I shouldn't be wasting our limited time together because you're being nice to some poor bloke and I can't handle it. Can you give me another chance, Rosie?"

Rose's stomach lurched unpleasantly. She didn't want to go out with Will again. The last time had been a disaster and this time wouldn't be any different- not with Scorpius there. And truth be told, her heart really wasn't in it. Dating men at this time was too much of a hassle.

But how was she to let him down gently?

"Will, I…I don't think it's possible. Not right now, anyway. I've really been run off my feet lately and I just don't think it's a good idea." Rose offered him an apologetic smile, wishing he would leave. She was acutely conscious of Scorpius' presence, even though she couldn't see him.

Will's face instead of crumpling with dejection as it had last time, clouded over and he took a step forward, invading her personal space.

"Why?" He said, his voice low. "You had enough time the other night. And honestly Rose, after the way you stood me up last time, I think you owe me this date."

"Will…"Rose's voice trailed off warningly. Her eyes darted around the bank, taking in the curious glances directed at her. "Don't make a scene."

"I won't take no for an answer." Will stepped in again, closing the distance between them and grabbing her wrist harshly. "Say yes, Rose." He urged, his grip so tight it was restricting her blood flow.

Rose opened her mouth to protest but suddenly Will wasn't in front of her anymore; he was sprawled across the ground, moaning and nursing his jaw.

Rose gaped at him and whirled around to find Scorpius standing next to her, flexing his left hand.

"You-You _punched _him!" She screeched.

Scorpius ignored her and hauled Will to his feet. "Listen here," he snarled. "If you even _think _about forcing Rose to do anything or ever lay a hand on her again, I will kill you. I will crucio your sorry arse till you go insane and then I will fucking kill you. Got that?"

Will whimpered and tried to pry Scorpius' clenched fingers off his throat. "Let go, man" He choked out. "I was just messing around."

Scorpius' grip tightened.

"Scorp! Put him down!" Rose yelped, alarmed at the scene unfolding in front of her. Scorpius continued to ignore her, Will's face growing purple as he fought for air, his hands clawing at Scorpius'.

"SCORPIUS!" Rose gripped his wrist harshly and sent him the most urgent look she could. "Let him go."

He finally turned to look at her, his gaze blank with anger. He blinked once, seeming to come back to himself, and finally loosened his grip. Will crumpled to the floor in a gasping heap, each breath loud and shuddering. He dry heaved, his prone figure shaking.

Rose just stared at the both of them, horrified. How had the situation escalated to this? Scorpius stared down at the sad figure lying at his feet, his gaze pitiless and harsh. The depositors scattered around the hall pointed and whispered loudly, looking appalled but otherwise making no move to help Will.

Rose made to help Will up, but the guards stationed at the entrance beat her to it, lifting him to his feet and escorting him outside, probably hoping to dispel the gawking crowd.

Nigbit pushed his way through towards Scorpius, whispering harshly to him, his voice low enough that no one else, not even Rose, could hear. She watched Scorpius' features tighten with anger and then relax as he nodded once. Nigbit scowled angrily at him and turned to the onlookers. "Get on with your business or you lot won't be getting any gold today." He snarled.

The wizards shook themselves out of their stupor and turned their attention back to their own problems, already forgetting about the scene they'd just witnessed. Rose just stared at Scorpius, disbelievingly.

"What was that?" She said flatly.

He met her accusatory glare, his posture arranging itself into a defensive one. "That was me doing my job."

Rose scoffed. "Your job? Does your job entail you killing any bloke you happen to have a problem with?"

"Actually," Scorpius said. "It sort of does -hang on…."

He tugged at a chain hidden beneath his shirt, drawing it out. A galleon was suspended at the end of it, with the official seal of the ministry stamped across one side. It was the auror's way of communicating with each other- courtesy of her mum.

Scorpius' expression grew grim as the serial numbers around the edge of the coin rearranged to form a specific code.

"What is it?" Rose asked anxiously, thoughts of Will fleeing her mind.

Scorpius let go of the medallion and pulled out his wand instead.

"Something's wrong." He said. "Very wrong. Come with me and don't ask any questions."

"I-"

But before Rose could protest, he had grabbed her by the hand and they were turning on the spot, being sucked into the crushing blackness. All Rose could do was clutch on to the figure beside her and wonder what the hell was happening.

* * *

**Well, I did tell y'all I didn't like that Will character too much. Uhm..yeah *sheepish grin*. Anyway, this chapter was necessary because of the last one and also because of the one that's coming after this. Whatever Scorp got called for, it ain't nothing good. **

**But enough with me and my spoilers, just review :D We're frighteningly close to 100! EEEE!**

**PS- I double dog dare you to repeat the chapter title aloud, 10 times and really quickly. Also, let it be known i spend approximately .05 seconds thinking up the title and therefore, they don't always make sense. Peace. **


	9. Mission

**A/N: WE MADE 100! I'm so thrilled :D I mean, woah, this story's been up for exactly half a month so I'm really really...hcowejowdeie! And the response for the last chapter...wow. I've never gotten 21 reviews for one single chapter (unless you count the RS oneshot I wrote). And yes, technically I was planning on updating tomorrow, but I couldn't wait. I mean, I left it on a cliffie last time, for god's sake! **

**Also, don't hate me for this chapter. I'll make up for it next chapter FOR SURE. You'll see what I mean. **

**Thanks to all my lovely, amazing, super-awesome reviewers: Silvermist76, MustReadAndWrite, Senga1, Kirra993, lilbuddie715, dobbyfish, Mrs. Theodore Nott, OMG.I'm The Tin Dog, ainat92,XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Pinakamataas, nick55, SaruDM, lynnnnyl, Missdagane, Nanita, Cass, emeralda363, x-rayLady and ogee.**

**Cass- Oh you may be right, but you're probably wrong...or maybe not. Huh. Can't say for sure. -innocent smile-. I'm planning on dragging out who the killer is, I'm having so much making up their character! You'll have a small bit in the killer's POV soon by the way. Also, yeah cliffies suck don't they? But you gotta love 'em anyway. I'm glad you liked the end of seven! I have better stuff planned...;) **

**And to those who alerted/faved: Kirra993, Zara Alexandros, OMG I'm The Tin Dog, ainat92, Midolluin, Leia Quartermaine, TheChosenOne777, raspberrysorbet and anneelizabeth.**

**Okay, dedication time! This chapter is for Missdagane and Ogee, my first and hundredth reviewers respectively. :D**

**If you have a weak stomach and a vivid imagination, stop eating that donut before you start reading!...just in case. **

* * *

**Chapter 9: **

_Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

_Head: Hermione Granger-Weasley_

Scorpius all but shoved her into the empty office. "Stay here," he said urgently. "Don't leave this room, no matter what."

Rose stared at him, her mind whirling in confusion. "What-? Scorpius, what's going on?"

She lunged for his wrist as he turned to leave, stopping him in his tracks. "Tell me what's happening." She demanded.

Scorpius looked back at her, his expression torn between exasperation and anxiety. "I don't know myself, Rose. I've been called in for an emergency meeting and you are not, under any circumstances, to go anywhere on your own. Understand? If you leave this room, I'll know." He shook her grip off, giving her a warning look.

"Like hell I'm-" The door shut with a slam as he left. "-going to stay here."

Rose darted forward, grabbing the handle and twisting it. All she got for her trouble was a mild electric shock. Rose cursed Scorpius mentally. The bloody bugger had warded the door so she couldn't get out.

Well if he thought that was going to hold Rose, of all people, he had another think coming.

Rose pointed her wand at the door, fury rising.

"Confringo!"

XXXXXX

Scorpius shouldered his way through the milling throng of panicked wizards. The atrium was packed as more employees flooed or apparated in continuously, joining the circle congregated around a spot in the middle of the hall.

Roughly shoving his way through to the front, he looked down distastefully at what was splattered over the black marble.

"Scorpius! Thank Merlin! Have you seen Thomas and Greene? We need as many as we can get, this is a complete mess-"

Scorpius turned to Proudfoot, all senses back on full alert. _Mess _was an understatement.

XXXXXXXX

"I don't understand! How could this have happened?"

"Someone seal the floo network- block it now, dammit-"

"-my husband! Let me through! LET ME THROUGH!"

Rose was shoved about roughly as people ran in every direction, voices raised and the occasional wail piercing the tumult.

Rose looked around, horrified; it was chaos. Pure chaos. There were wizards everywhere, all looking panicked and anxious, running from department to department as if their lives depended on it. The majority of the crowd was headed towards the atrium though and Rose was swept along with them wondering if maybe it wouldn't have been better to find out what was going on from the safety of the office.

Stumbling into the atrium, she noticed the barrage of witches and wizards flooing in, with several others stationed nearby trying to turn off the network. Her body still not under her own control, she was thrown unceremoniously into the thickest part of the mob.

"Oh Merlin! Godric rest his soul…"

"Where did it connect to before this? Check the-"

"Shit! What the-" There was the sound of retching and the crowd around the squeamish man backed off slightly, giving Rose an opening. She darted forward, bouncing on her heels, trying to see over the crowd. It was useless.

Hissing exasperatedly, she dropped to her knees, scuttling through the biggest openings she could find. People yelped and jumped aside as she passed them, one even kicking her in the rib with a booted foot.

_Bloody hell. _

Finally reaching the edge of the horde, Rose shoved aside two witches and finally took a look at the scene which had the entire ministry on its toes; and nearly retched.

A charred body was lying flat on its back, bloody sockets staring up at the arched ceiling. The skin had been burnt away completely, the figure a roiling mass of raw, red flesh and ripped organs.

Rose felt the bile rising in her throat and clapped a hand over her mouth. Next to her, a witch in purple robes succumbed to the sight and fainted.

Unable to tear her eyes away from the gruesome spectacle, she could vaguely hear the wizards next to her shouting, though it sounded more like a murmur through the haze in her mind.

"Burned him alive-"

"-sent through the floo network? That's-"

"-his heart _burst! _It _burst!-"_

"-where the fuck are the aurors?-"

Rose had been staring fixedly at the gleaming gold medallion still suspended around the blackened neck, but the words permeated her conscious, tearing her eyes away.

She cast about, looking for Scorpius and finding him. His distinctively blond head stood out even in the crowd. He was standing amongst a handful of wizards wearing dark green auror robes.

She watched as he nodded at something one of the others had said. They moved away, the spectators immediately parting to let them pass.

Rose stumbled after him, confident he wouldn't spot her in the pandemonium. Her heart was thumping heavily in her chest. She was no stranger to gruesome sights or death, but never ever in her wildest dreams had she envisioned the roasted body of an auror just showing up in the middle of the ministry, as if it was an unsecured public park or somewhere equally accessible.

And who would do something like that? Who would transport a victim's body like that to the ministry, as it if they were flinging their disdain and mockery in the authorities' faces?

Her insides seemed to shrivel as a horrible thought crossed her mind: What if it was someone she knew? What if that horrible creature back there was someone Rose knew and even loved? Half her family worked in the ministry!

The bile rose in her throat yet again and this time she emptied the contents of her stomach in a potted plant. Nobody took any notice of her as they all rushed about, concerned with their own problems.

Rose looked about helplessly, realizing she'd lost sight of Scorpius. She needed to know-needed to know what was going on. She grabbed someone as they whipped past her, clinging on forcefully.

"What's happening?" Her voice was hoarse and manic, even to her own ears. The wizard she had grabbed shook his head forcefully. "Can't stop, let go of me! Bloody hell, woman, this is an emergency-" He shook off her grip and the rest of his sentence was drowned by the maddening din around them, as he was swept further away from her.

In the midst of the chaos around her and in her own mind, a constructive thought finally formulated itself in Rose's brain: Find Al and James. They'd tell her what was going on- not only were they aurors, they probably wouldn't chuck her into a makeshift prison the way Scorpius or Uncle Harry would.

Her footsteps redirected themselves instantly towards the auror office. She sprinted flat out, paying no heed to the jostling crowd. She had to find them and she had to help if she could.

Slipping slightly as she slid to a halt in front of the correct department, she dashed inside running smack into someone's back. The man whipped around and she recognized him instantly.

"Rose?" Zabini said incredulously. "What are you doing here, you shouldn't be- HEY!"

She darted around him praying he wouldn't raise the alarm. Glancing back at him, she saw that he'd already moved on to more pressing matters. She sighed in relief, weaving past unfamiliar faces.

Damn, Damn, Damn! Where the hell were the people she actually knew?

She crashed into someone else and looking up, breathed a humongous sigh of relief.

"James!"

"Rosie!" He pulled her into a crushing hug. "What are you doing here? Shit, of course, we need Malfoy for the extraction unit." He grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her away. Rose felt a grim sense of foreboding as she caught sight of his face; he looked harried and anxious and were his eyes _red?_

"James, what's going on? What's wrong?" She held on to him tighter, lest he try and escape as well.

He did a double-take, giving her a disbelieving look. "You mean you don't know? Merlin, Rose. I-I can't tell you, you-"

"Shit!" Scorpius had spotted her and she could see the anger in his face even from this distance, as he made his way towards them. "James, I have to go! I'll be right back!"

"Rose! Wait!" She lunged past James' outstretched hands, trying to lose Scorpius in the madness. Seeing a door slightly ajar, she slipped in, recognizing it instantly as the head's office. Fortunately for her, it was empty. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be for much longer. She ducked under the desk just as the door was pushed open again. There was the sound of footsteps as someone strode in quickly and then a slam as the door was closed forcefully.

Shit!

"Harry you have to send them immediately!" Rose's head banged against the desk as she recognized her father's voice with a start. Luckily, the men failed to notice the faint sound.

"I KNOW, Ron! You think I don't bloody-Aaargh Fuck! How did this happen?"

Rose tamped down the itching need to add a visual to the scene. They'd spot her right off if she poked her head out. And what was that about sending someone somewhere? And how did _what_ happen? Surely they couldn't be in such a state about the body upstairs? That didn't require dispatching a team of aurors...what had James said? The extraction unit?

"Let me go with them, Harry. I can help!"

Rose could imagine Harry shaking his head even as he spoke, voice laced with despair: "No, Ron. Aurors only. That bastard killed Gawain so easily and he was one of our best…we don't know if the rest of the team is even alive, I-" He broke off at this point with an odd choking sound, as if the words had caught in his throat.

There was a shuffle of movement and Rose shifted slightly, trying to garner a peek from the crack between wood and floor.

"He's fine Harry, trust me-"

"HE'S NOT FINE, RON! How can you say that? How can you possibly know that? My son may be DEAD and it's my own bloody fault!"

Rose paused in her movements, stricken, breath caught in her chest. His son….? But James was fine, he was….As Rose's mind drew closer to its horrifying conclusion, Harry let out another shuddering breath.

"Al may be dead, Ron…"

XXXXXXX

Scorpius growled in frustration, raking a hand through his hair. Rose had whipped out of sight and he had no time to look for her. If she got into a mess, she'd just have to sort it out herself, for now.

Proudfoot had briefed him on the situation and it was not good. The ministry had received a tip-off from an anonymous source about the whereabouts of the serial killer. They'd dispatched a team of aurors, ten in number, to follow up the lead. Twenty minutes into the operation, they had lost contact with the unit. Fifteen minutes later, Gawain Robards' mutilated body had fallen out of fireplace number 23.

Scorpius felt sick as he envisioned how Robards had died. Their mystery man had probably thrown him into the fire _before _throwing in the powder, let him simmer there for a few minutes, maybe while he was alive, screaming desperately….and then he'd simply packed him off to the ministry, as a sadistic inhumane joke.

He'd temporarily been relieved of his prior duties as the ministry assembled a rag-tag team of inferior aurors, pulling its best from active missions. James Potter was here, despite the fact that he was supposed to be in Latvia and so was Savage who'd retired just two weeks ago.

And of course, Scorpius himself. He felt a twinge of worry and pushed it away quickly before it could manifest itself in a stronger form, as it undoubtedly would if he allowed himself to dwell on it. The missing team consisted of people who he'd worked with and known for four years- Including the youngest Potter son, who had become one of his closest friends.

How many of the initial party were dead? And how many would be better off dead?

Scorpius focused on the present as Al's father exited his office, closely followed by Ron Weasley. He looked around at the assembled group, seventeen of them in total.

His jaw worked furiously though he said nothing. Then, "Time to move."

XXXXXXXXX

Rose watched, barely taking in the scene as the aurors gathered around a portkey. Her mind worked furiously, repeating the same message: _Al's dead, Al's dead, Al's dead._

The portkey began to glow dully as she dug her nails into her arm painfully. No. Al wasn't dead. He couldn't be. How was it possible for Albus Potter, of all people to be dead? The boy who'd always been so strong, so intelligent, so damn infallible? And if he was, then Rose wouldn't stay here knowing that maybe she could have done something about it but didn't, because she was too afraid and too incompetent, too selfish…

Rose made a decision she knew she wouldn't regret, no matter what.

Casting a disillusionment charm, she darted forward, one hand landing on the old boot just as the white light exploded outwards, encompassing her and the aurors.

XXXXXXXXX

The hastily assembled group fell about, stumbling slightly as they appeared outside the boundary wall of a large estate. Wasting no time, they blasted a hole in the wall, meeting zero resistance; the wards had been taken care of by the previous team.

Rose followed closely, wand at the ready and heart beating frantically against her chest.

The wizards ahead of her streamed into the manor. Rose ducked out of the way as Scorpius and James pushed past her, hot on Harry's heels.

_What am I doing?_

The mental query thrust itself at her, slowing her pace. Shaking herself, she shoved away the fleeting moment of rational thought. She was saving her cousin was what she was doing.

The inside of the manor was huge. Rose's heart sank as she took in the sheer size. How were they supposed to defend themselves in such a vast space? And how were they supposed to locate the missing team?

Eerily enough, the house was immaculate, each surface gleaming and spotless. No dust, no dirt…no blood.

The aurors had split into four teams, combing the house from top to bottom. Wishing to avoid running into her relatives or Malfoy, Rose chose the third floor. She was vaguely aware of the disillusionment charm wearing off and made a mental note to recast it the moment she heard voices.

All the rooms were deserted. She swung open each door, but the rooms within were abandoned and empty. The whole house gave off an aura of neglect and disuse, though physically it was in perfect shape. The sunlight streaming in through the arched windows did nothing to dispel the shadows. If anything, it made them more pronounced.

Rose was disconcerted by the fact that she could hear nothing; not the aurors, no animals or birds or anything. In comparison, the sounds she made seemed magnified. The thumping of her heart, the creak of the floorboards she crept across them, the sound of her heavy breathing.

Pausing in front of a miscellaneous door, she pushed it cautiously, expecting the room to be empty, same as the others.

It wasn't.

Rose's scream caught in her throat as she took in the carnage in front of her. Bodies strewn over the wooden floor, lying in haphazard piles, looking for all the world like ripped, bloody rag dolls. Toys that had been played with and tossed aside carelessly, limbs askew and clothes ripped.

She stepped forward hesitantly, the fear and shock almost paralyzing her mind. She paused at one of the bodies and reaching down, flipped it over. She gagged as the lifeless eyes stared up at her, a hole in the centre of the forehead so deep, she could see the dead man's brain, the tissue spilling out. His face was stretched into a grimace of horror but all Rose could think of as she stared at what remained of his face was that it wasn't Al.

Forcing herself to step away, she skirted the man's pool of blood, and where it mingled with other similar scarlet streams.

There on the floor, right next to the window, she caught sight of a head of messy black hair, the body lying on its side, one leg twisted the wrong way.

Rushing forward, not allowing herself to think, she pulled the body gently towards herself, breath catching at the sight of her cousin's face. Albus' face was pale, his eyes closed as if he were asleep. Hesitantly, she raised a shaking hand and placed it on his throat, searching for the faintest glimmer of a pulse…

And screamed as a hand, slick with blood, wrapped itself around her ankle, pulling her backwards.

She twisted around, catching a glimpse of her assailant. One eye missing, a horrible jagged cut down one side of his face, his mouth dribbled blood as he dragged her towards him with his remaining arm.

"…hel..l…"

* * *

**I did say M for violence...Umm. I'll be nice next chapter, I swear! **

**Don't kill me! -hides-**

**Review?**

**Also, I've never written violent stuff before. This is all Edgar Allan Poe's fault. **


	10. Love and War

**A/N: Okay, so I really like this chapter. I was quite happy with it when I wrote it anyway. And guess what- No cliffie this time! But, but, but! I don't know if I'll be able to update every two-three days for a while because I've sort of developed a mental block and am stuck on chapter 13 currently. But don't worry, I'll continue to update even if slightly slowly! **

**One more thing, this chapter is approx. the halfway mark. I think this story will probably be about 20 chapters, give or take a few. So, cheers! Let's celebrate the milestone 10 with some RxS.**

**Thanks to all my awesomesauce reviewers: Lizzy0308, Love without expectation, SaruDM, x-rayLady, Firemaker, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Missdagane, Mrs. Theodore Nott, lilbuddie715, sundance1989, ainat92, Cass, Kirra993, SFred93, silvermist76, reader91, lunapeacock, Roseweasley85, arrrgghimapiratenow, Pal the bad ass and emeralda363. Loved your reviews for the last chapter, in a sort of freakish-sadistic way ;)**

**And all those who faved/alerted: MereLamb, 00Laila00, Firemaker, waltraute, Sundance1989, arrrgghimapirate now and pugluv24.**

**Damn, my author's notes are long...We shall tarry no longer! Proceed! **

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

Rose lashed out viciously with her foot, catching the man by surprise. His head whipped to the side with a terrible clacking sound and he righted himself, eyes blazing with pain and fury.

She managed to evade his grip, scuttling away on all fours. She looked back to see that he had staggered to his feet and was now lurching towards her. Still on the floor, Rose crawled backwards, barely aware of the bloody pools soaking through her clothes.

Her heart caught in her throat as her back hit a wall- she could go no further. Her wand was lying next to Albus' prone form where she'd dropped it in her haste and shock. Another terrifying scream was ripped from her as the mutilated figure in front of her lost its footing, toppling over a corpse, his body landing on hers.

She was vaguely aware of it opening its mouth, saying something. But she was too terrified to take it in, all she could see were the bleeding gums and rivulets of scarlet running down his chin and throat, drops splattering her shirt.

"…end..t..ple-"

Rose struggled out from under him, unable to take in what was happening. She lashed out again, her palm hitting his face with little effect. Still, he struggled to speak, to form words which were beyond her understanding.

"…plea..se…t..pain…"

Hands still on the remnants of his face, she shoved with all her strength. He raised an arm to defend himself, or maybe to strike her; she didn't know which. But the sight of the bloodied stump, still fresh after it's severing was too much for her. She let out a strangled cry, unable to scream past the tangible panic blocking the throat.

Where the fuck was everyone else in this godforsaken house?

As if on cue, the door burst open, and Rose could honestly say that never before had she been so glad to see the look of absolute fury on Scorpius' face.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Scorpius whipped around as a shriek pierced the deafening silence of the manor. It was distinctly feminine and clearly terrified. Following the sound, he found himself on the third floor, shoving open doors leading to empty rooms, the other aurors hot on his heels, until finally the last one swung open to reveal two crumpled forms, one struggling on the floor, the other hunched over the first.

As the knockback spell left his wand, he caught a flash of familiar red hair from the corner of his eye. It brought to mind the fleeting image of Rose Weasley, but pushing away the absurd thought that the figure on the ground may indeed be her, he strode towards the injured auror, without a backward glance to allay his fears.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Within seconds, the disfigured man was off her, his form crumpling against the opposing wall. Scorpius bypassed her completely, his focus entirely on the man.

She watched through a white-tinged haze as he leaned over the slightly stirring form. He crouched down lightly, wand at his side. With growing disbelief, she witnessed the two sharing a brief exchange of words.

Rose didn't know what had been said, but next thing she knew, Scorpius had raised his wand, there was a jet of green light, and the man on the floor was dead.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Proudfoot burst into the room, right behind the junior Malfoy, his worst fears were confirmed. There lay all nine bodies, the bodies of his comrades, motionless, disfigured, lying in pools of their own and each other's blood.

His heart caught in his throat as he ran forward, not allowing his emotions to overcome him. He was fully aware of his team's presence behind him, as they ran forward, dropping beside the fallen figures, checking for pulses.

Mr. Potter and James spotted Albus right away, falling to their knees beside him. Proudfoot, for the first time, in his lengthy career, found himself at a loss. The dead and alive-if there were any- were being tended to and there was naught for him to do but stand there, wrestling with his rage and grief.

The bastard- the bastard who had done this- he would pay. There was no trace of him in the manor, he had left but shortly before them, obliterating any evidence which would point to his identity. He prayed that their purpose for coming here would not be reduced to one of carting away the bodies of their brothers- surely some were alive, even if just one...

Proudfoot did a double-take as he spotted the blood-covered female slumped in the corner. He made to rush forward, to make sure she was not dangerous, and more importantly, alive. But Malfoy beat him to it. Never had Proudfoot seen him looking so enraged, so completely out of control, then as he yanked the girl off the ground, her cries of protest falling heavily on his ears.

Proudfoot started forward grimly, wishing to protect the young lady, whoever she may be. But he was distracted mid-stride by the wondrous call of "There's a pulse!"

XXXXXXX

The aurors, Scorpius and Rose included, converged on the still figure now lying on his back.

Actual tears were streaming down Harry's face as he clutched the hand of his son like a lifeline. A pulse, so faint, but present all the same…

He knew though, that Albus was hovering between life and death. If they left it too long, there wouldn't even be that fluttering beat, growing softer all the while.

"James…James take him to Mungos. Quickly, before it's too late."

His eldest son shook himself out of his trance-like state, his expression one of horrified disbelief as he stared at his dying brother. He nodded tersely, wasting no time with words. One resounding crack, and he and Al were gone.

Harry turned, exhausted to the others. "Is anyone else….are there others?"

The vice grip around his heart tightened its tenacious hold, squeezing the breath out of his chest as the others shied away from his gaze, looking down and away, anywhere but into his green eyes. The despair was like a sinking boulder pulling him under, so that even his own vision swam momentarily. How many had died?

He was torn from his torturous thoughts by a feeble cough and then a louder one as one of the figures on the ground turned over abruptly, spitting out clotted blood by the mouthful.

Relief swooped down on Harry as he rushed to the wizard's side, praying that at least one more could be saved.

XXXXXXXXX

Rose had never been so scared in her life as when Scorpius had finally spotted her and swooped down, spitting rage in such great quantities, she could almost feel her courage shriveling up and leaving her for good.

He'd pulled her to her feet, shaking her roughly till she'd cried out in pain. His eyes were hard flints of steel, completely unrecognizable. If she hadn't known him, she would have mistaken him for a killer or an insane madman. After all- after all, had she not just seen him kill someone?

Why had he done that? Immobilising him was one thing, but killing? There was blood on his hands in more ways than one now, and quite frankly Rose was terrified.

Convinced she was next, she let out a startled squeak as Uncle Harry's voice sounded from across the room. "There's a pulse!"

Heart racing, she watched as James apparated away with Al. The relief in the room was palpable, and as for Rose…her own personal relief mixed with guilt at her lack of feeling for the others, who weren't so lucky, swept through her so completely, she swayed where she stood.

Scorpius had let go of her and was already by her uncle's side as she righted herself, placing one palm against the wall for support.

She had to leave before the others finally came into their senses and realized that not only were they not alone, for some unfathomable reason, their leader's niece was hanging around looking as if she'd been part of the bloodbath.

Swiping a random wand off the ground near her feet, she staggered out of the room, hoping desperately that no one witnessed her exit.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Scorpius scanned the room agitated, looking for the tell-tale flash of red. But there was so much red in the room…on the floor, across the walls, each surface splashed liberally with it. The aurors were apparating away in groups of two, each supporting a dead wizard.

Ernie Macmillan was the second wizard to be saved. And the last. The rest, all eight including Gawain were dead and brutally so. Looking at their wounds made Scorpius reconsider the extent of their opponent's insanity.

Killing death eaters was one thing, killing ministry members another…

He glanced back involuntarily at the crumpled figure of the man he'd killed, feeling a pang of sorrow but no regret. He wouldn't have lasted much longer and the agony he was suffering was beyond anything a mortal should have to bear, for even a minute more than was necessary.

Nodding to Proudfoot, Scorpius stalked out of the room, his mind back on Rose. His rage had been numbed by disbelief and grief but now his mind was clearing and it was throwing one thought repeatedly at him, fueling his rage.

_I'm going to _kill_ Rose fucking Weasley._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose was lost. She was completely, utterly, irrevocably lost. The manor was a maze- how had she not noticed before? When she'd come in, she'd been checking the rooms systematically, one by one. But now that she was starting from the finish line, she had no idea which direction to proceed in.

To make matters worse, the wand in her hand was unfamiliar as if it were someone else's limb tacked on to her body. The analogy made her stomach roil unpleasantly as it brought to mind a visual of the carnage she had left behind her.

Her eyes shut tightly, of their own accord as images flew through her mind. The glassy eyes, the blood, the stench of death…Her heart clenched in fear for Albus again, but she reassured herself that he was in the best hands available. He would be in Mungo's by now receiving his treatment…he would live, she was sure of it.

_But if he didn't_….Rose shoved away the parasitic thought, before it could take root and drive her insane. Her only prerogative now was to get out of here before anyone noticed she'd even been there in the first place. Why had she come? What had she hoped to achieve?

Rose's heart sank as she thought of Scorpius and the way he had looked at her. The fury in his eyes, the…_animalistic _rage. She was in trouble, big time.

Because like it or not, she had just tossed herself directly into the path of the proverbial avada kedavra, and for what? All she'd done was witness death and destruction on a scale she'd never seen before.

Looking around herself in despair, she wondered how she was to get out…the thought struck her like an anvil and she cursed her stupidity.

Of course! Had James not just apparated out of the building? Clearly the wards had been taken down completely! And she'd been wandering around like a complete blithering fool for fifteen bloody minutes now! She raised the strange wand, hoping she wouldn't splinch herself with its inferior magic.

"Stop."

She started violently, eyes snapping open. The voice was cold, yet oh-so familiar. She raised her sheepish gaze to meet Scorpius' smouldering one.

"Er…hi?"

He ignored her idiotic statement and strode forward, grasping her arm. Before she could say another word, she was being compressed from each side as they apparated, appearing outside her apartment with a pop. Another second, and he had pushed her inside, the door closing behind them with a resolute click.

Rose backed away from Scorpius warily. He was furious- that much was obvious. But there was something else in his eyes, in the way he held himself that she couldn't read. And it scared her. Because whatever it was, it didn't bode well for her.

She cleared her throat nervously, licking her dry lips. "Well. That was-"

"Shut up."

Rose's mouth snapped shut obediently.

"I'm-"

"Shut. Up."

In a startling flash of motion, he was close, too close and her back was pressed up against the wall behind her. "Scorp-" Rose broke off with a gasp as his wand tip connected with her throat, forcing her chin up.

"I could kill you right now."

His voice was lower than she'd ever heard it. His words sent a chill through her spine, and she shivered involuntarily, gaze fixed on his shoulder.

The wand dug deeper into her throat, and her eyes snapped back up.

Her breath caught as she noticed just how close he really was. His eyes had found hers and she couldn't look away, though her mind was screaming at her to push him away, to leave, that he had no right treating her this way.

"Is that what you want?" he whispered. Rose regarded him with confusion before her mind connected this statement to his previous one. "Do you want to die, Rose?"

"I-of course not! That's absur-" she broke off with a sharp intake of breath as his lips brushed hers lightly, touching but just barely.

"Because," he murmured against her lips. "It would seem that you have a certain penchant for danger." Rose was acutely aware of his wand as it trailed down her throat, tracing tantalizing patterns around the hollow, caressing her jaw line.

Rose swallowed nervously, the small movement bringing their lips into fuller contact. She wanted to lean forward, close the infinitesimal distance left…

Instead she said, "Why are you doing this?"

He was so close to her, his chest against hers, that she felt him stiffen at her question. Barely aware that her eyes had fluttered close, they opened again as he took a step back, his shoulders tense and silvery eyes still filled with…what _were_ they filled with? She couldn't tell. But they reminded her of storm clouds right now, angry and dark and foreboding.

He moved away, and she was acutely aware of each step he took away from her. And before she knew what she was about, her hand was curled around his wrist, holding on with a fierce intensity.

His gaze landed on their joint hands first then rose steadily up the length of her body to meet her frantic eyes.

"What?" He bit out, as if even that one word pained him, as if a moment more in her company was a moment too many.

Rose stepped closer, her mind crystal clear but completely devoid of rational thought.

She poured all her anger into one swift action, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down till his mouth was on hers.

His lips froze against hers even as she tried to coerce his mouth open, kissing him roughly, with bruising force. She let go of his wrist, winding the hand around his neck instead, the other still clutching his shirt. This time it was his back against the wall.

Rose let out a growl of frustration as he remained stiff and unmoving beneath her. Pulling away, she gave him a glare that would have made anyone else's knees knock together with sheer fright. Scorpius just stared back at her blankly, not shying away from her burning regard.

"Kiss me."

He raised an eyebrow, finding it in himself to be sardonic even at a time like this. "Is that what you want?" He said again. Rose laughed harshly. "No, I wanted you to reject and humiliate me you bastard, that's why I launched myself into your arms."

Scorpius' lips quirked up ever so slightly and Rose had only a second or two to feel triumphant, before he had whirled them around, pinning her between him and the wall.

"I think that can be arranged." He whispered devilishly and before Rose could ask him what exactly he meant by that, his mouth was on hers again, hot and yielding. He pushed past her lips instantly, deepening the kiss till she could feel its effects all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes.

Rose forgot how to breathe, and for a delicious moment she even forgot where she was and just about everything else that had ever entered her mind. It was just Scorpius, the touch and feel and taste of him and the wall pressing into her back-

Rose nearly yelped as the wall suddenly disappeared, her legs pressing into another hard surface. She was barely conscious of him having moved them and forgot all about it a moment later, as he hoisted her onto the table, her legs coming up to wrap themselves around his waist, automatically, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

His hands weren't still. Far from it. They traced burning patterns over her skin, the cloth separating them doing nothing to diminish the heat. If anything, she could feel each nerve lighting up in a way it had never before…as if they were all individual firecrackers and they'd all been lit simultaneously.

Her fingers wound into his hair, the other hand trailing down his chest, feeling each defined contour, the hard muscles and heat of his body. She was vaguely aware of her back pressed against the surface of the table. He was hovering over her, placing kisses along her jawline, and as her hands scrabbled to find purchase on the slippery surface, her hand knocked against a light object. It clattered off the table, landing with a deafening smash.

Rose's eyes snapped open and colour flooded her cheeks as she realized exactly what she was doing and with whom. She pushed Scorpius back at the same time he leaned away himself, and their eyes met, wide and disoriented.

His eyes were dark and hair messed up from where she'd tugged it roughly and Rose was aware of her own swollen lips as she tugged her shirt down sharply from where it had ridden up.

"I-"

"We-"

They'd spoken simultaneously and Rose almost forgot who had said what. But nothing needed to be said- or rather, there was too much that needed to be said- and they nodded hastily at each other, looking away instantly.

Rose pushed past him brusquely, closing her door behind her and slumping against it, awaiting the return of reason. Thirty seconds later, she heard Scorpius' door close with a resolute snap.

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**A/N: Yay****! Just so y'all know, I read an entire Julia Quinn before writing this chapter. And I have never ever attempted something like this because I'm a prude (yeah, right...) and don't write sex scenes. And I probably never will write sex scenes either, cos that would have to be 100% from imagination. (What? I'm 17.)**

**Oh, for those who wondered, Harry is head of the Aurors so he doesn't lead a specific unit. That's why Proudfoot is usually boss. Kinda like how principals don't teach classes. (Unless you go to my school.)**

**Anyway, review and let me know what you thought of this chapter...I'll be checking my mail obsessively for the next few hours! **


	11. The Funeral

**Gracias to all the reviewers: Okay, BIG thanks to Amy who left like, a bajillion reviews, Love without expectation, x-rayLady, SaruDM, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, lilbuddie715, roseweasley85, (unknown), Missdagane, Mrs. Theodore Nott, tikincloks, alexypalexy, Cass, Rose, Sundance1989, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, euphoenix, mahims01, ainat92 and lunapeacock. (**

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Chapter 11:

Rose squeezed Albus' hand, wishing desperately that he would respond. But he just lay there on the stark white sheets, looking absurdly peaceful. She studied his face carefully; it was completely unmarked and even the residual cuts from previous missions had been healed completely. In fact he looked to be in better shape than she'd ever seen him- except for the miniscule fact that he was currently lying in a bed in St. Mungo's with about eight healers buzzing around him at all times. Oh, and he still hadn't woken up-even once.

It could be worse of course. He could be dead. All the rest were except for Macmillan who had already been discharged and was currently on his way to take a vacation in Barbados with his family. He wouldn't be coming back to work for a while, that was for sure…

Rose's stomach lurched unpleasantly as she thought of the wizard who had attacked her. Garrick Thompson. That had been his name. He was thirty-eight years old, had a wife and two children. He'd been an auror for eighteen years. And he'd been killed by that bastard- the bloody 'mystery killer'. Okay, so it had been Scorpius, unbelievably enough who'd technically _killed _him but as the others had explained to her, he'd apparently done Garrick Thompson a service by killing him when he had. Rose blinked back tears of grief and frustration as she remembered what he'd been trying to say, even as he'd dragged her backwards. _Help. Kill me. Please. _

It weighed on her conscience heavily even though she doubted that she would have had the strength to raise her wand and cast the killing curse on him, even if she had understood him. She'd never cast an unforgivable before and really had no intention of starting. It was all fine and dandy for aurors to use them in life threatening situations but she would earn herself a one-way ticket to Azkaban regardless of the situation.

The hand clasped in hers jerked slightly and Rose's head shot up to see Albus' green eyes staring at her.

"Al!"

XXXXX

Albus' eyes opened of their own accord, so that for a few moments he was unsure of whether he was still dreaming or awake. His body felt numb aside from a small pressure on his hand and tilting his head slightly, he could see Rose hunched over the bed, looking a complete mess. Her eyes were rimmed with red and looking around, he could see that it was the same for the rest of the haggard and surprisingly large group gathered around his bed. There was Rose, James, Lily, his parents, Rose's parents, Hugo lurking in the corner, and his grandmother.

What the hell was the hospital staff thinking letting in half of England? Before he could shut his eyes and pretend to be asleep again, Rose's head jerked up suddenly, her eyes widening comically.

"Al!"

He stifled a groan as the others shot to their feet, immediately pressing in on him.

"Albus, mate!" James went to clap him on the shoulder then withdrew his hand hastily, thinking better of it.

If he'd had the strength, Albus would have rolled his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked anxiously.

"Just marvelous." He rasped dryly. "Never been better."

"Albus." His dad stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. Albus struggled to focus on his face, eyelids feeling heavy. Harry opened his mouth, and shut it again. "I'm sorry." He said simply.

"'Snot your fault dad." He mumbled, the room beginning to spin ever so slightly. "You didn't…know."

His heart wrenched as he saw his father's eyes literally swimming in tears.

"Who let you lot in anyway?" He said sleepily, trying to draw attention away from his father who, it seemed, was going to start bawling any second.

"Family's allowed to visit." Hugo said brightly from his corner.

"And so they let in half of wizarding Britain? Good lord. Is this the way to treat someone on their deathbed?" he joked lightly.

He was met by blank stares and awkward fidgeting.

Albus' face fell. "Too soon?"

Rose nodded mutely.

"Screw this, I'm going back to sleep."

And he pulled the blanket over his head and did just that.

XXXXX

A light drizzle pattered gently against the ground as the black-clad mourners stood assembled around the memorial. The ground was soft, the air misty.

It was the perfect day for a funeral.

"- to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life."

The heavily confunded muggle priest stepped aside as Harry took his place, facing the gathering. Faces were hidden in handkerchiefs, others were masked carefully. But most were tear-stained, wizards and witches alike crying openly, letting the world see their pain.

He was expected to say the final rites, to send off those who died in service to the rest of wizardkind.

His throat constricted painfully as it always did. He tugged at his tie, thinking it seemed too much like a noose for his liking. And then he began speaking.

XXXXXXXXX

"….those who died in honourable service. To them we bid farewell. And on our honour swear to seek justice…"

Rose felt herself tuning out, the impersonal words falling heavily on her ears. It was a scripted speech, the same one repeated at the funeral of any auror. It had been used too many times. But here, in front of all those who chose to attend the ceremony, there were things which simply could not be said.

Albus' hand rested lightly on her shoulder. He'd insisted on attending and no one had tried to stop him. He had, however, collapsed every ten minutes if he didn't have some sort of support. She couldn't see him but she knew that Scorpius was standing on her right, a little behind her.

She was acutely aware of his every movement and seemed to know exactly when he entered or exited a room and who he was talking to. It was disturbing and something she needed to have a serious think about but now wasn't the time to be thinking of how she had jumped him two days ago, almost having sex on the bloody table.

Would they have…? If she hadn't knocked that teacup down…Rose shook her head hastily, to clear her thoughts, earning a weird glance from Albus. Not now.

She watched as the coffins were lowered magically into the ground. There were only three as the others had been buried in family plots. And then there was the memorial, with the names of the eight aurors. An imperious stone wizard rested majestically atop the plinth, brandishing a wand of pure gold, identical to the ones clasped between each dead auror's hands.

Rose looked around at all the people who had gathered for the event. There were about thirty which was a surprisingly small turnout considering most of the 'important' people in the ministry insisted on attending such things so as to display a sympathetic side to the public. It was publicity and it was sick. But maybe Uncle Harry had stepped in or something…

Standing closest to the graves was a dumpy old woman in traditional black robes. She was sobbing loudly into a scrap of lace. Her friend patted her on the back, muttering quietly to her. A little apart from them were two men in black coats. The one further back had graying hair and an unfamiliar face but the other one she recognized as Proudfoot.

She recalled the events under which she had last seen him uneasily. Almost involuntarily, she turned her head around to see if Scorpius had noticed him. He returned her look inquisitively, raising an eyebrow at her red eyes.

Rose shook her head slightly, turning back to the front, watching the mounds of dirt rise and fall over the graves in neat mounds. Fingertips brushed hers lightly and she jerked her hand away, unable to control the reflex. Looking sharply to her right, she saw that Scorpius had taken one step forward so he was level with her, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Hesitantly, heart pounding and her own eyes fixed on the proceedings, she extended her hand till their fingers were just touching. It was feather light, barely tangible. But it was enough and for some reason, it made her feel better.

It was with considerable surprise that she noticed the service had ended as people started filing past her.

Albus tugged at her arm. "Let's go find the others, Rosie. We have to leave now." Rose felt sad just _looking_ at her cousin; he was positively radiating misery and guilt. Survivor's guilt, she realized with a jolt.

They turned away, her hand brushing Scorpius' a last time and headed towards the apparition point. It was rude to disapparate near fresh graves. It was even considered a bad omen by the more superstitious of their lot; those who disapparated from a graveyard would soon leave the world themselves or something equally ridiculous.

As they trudged away, their path was intercepted continuously by a flurry of sympathetic or even enraged wizards who wanted to talk to Albus or simply offer their condolences. The man she'd seen next to Proudfoot nodded at her as he passed them.

"We're here." Albus said, diverting her attention. "Okay, side-along to Godric's hollow and remember, I'm an invalid."

Rose rolled her eyes and grasped her cousin's arm, already twisting on the spot. "Fine, you big baby."

XXXXXXXXXX

The man pulled his hood up to ward off the chill, heading towards the fresh mounds of dirt. He was glad everyone had left. He had been waiting for far too long to pay his own respects.

Coming to a stop in front of the memorial, he chuckled lightly as he brushed his fingers over the neatly carved words. _Live on._ Indeed. As if one could live on after death. He knew only too well that once a person was dead, they remained so.

He looked down distastefully at the layer of mud coating his dragon-hide boots. It really was a bother. But it couldn't be helped. He had to say farewell too didn't he? This was, after all, his party.

He chuckled again, breath whisping in the cool air. He couldn't stay too long. No, that wouldn't do. Tarrying too long tended to get one in trouble.

The man reached into his overcoat pocket and pulled out a single memento. This was his gift to the dead. Almost reverently, he placed the red rose atop the memorial, stepping back to admire the effect of the blood-red bloom against the stark marble.

Then bestowing one last paternal smile on the graves, he pulled out his wand and apparated away.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oi, pass me the butterbeer will you?"

"You're such a bloody lightweight. _Butterbeer, _honestly. I'm getting me some of Ogden's finest."

"Can you guys turn it down a little bit? I'm trying to watch the game."

"Honestly, we just came from a _funeral_. Could you _pretend _to be a little sadder?"

"Lay off, mum. Don't be such a crotchety old lady."

"I beg your pardon, Hugo Gideon Weasley?"

Rose watched, completely unruffled, as her family congregated in the Potter's residence. It was complete chaos, but having grown up in said chaos, she found it soothing and just plain old amusing. She and James laughed as Rose's mum grabbed Hugo by the ear and dragged him away.

"Stupid git," James said comfortably, throwing an arm over Rose's shoulders. "Thought he'd know better by now."

Rose rolled her eyes and tossed James' arm back in his lap. "How many drinks have you had? Isn't that your second bottle of firewhisky?"

"So what? We're supposed to get smashed after depressing events. It helps us forget!"

He grinned at her brightly and Rose narrowed her eyes at him wryly. It did, at that. He'd been all out crying two hours ago and now he was nestled comfortably in a couch, watching muggle football and getting piss-drunk.

She considered prying the bottle from his grasp but before she could, he fell sideways on the couch, clutching the bottle to himself as it were a security blanket. Rose rolled her eyes at his sleeping form and went off to try and find more engaging company.

She was headed for her dad before her mum plopped herself down on his lap and started- oh Merlin. Rose veered away hurriedly, shielding her eyes. She bumped into someone and looked up hurriedly.

"Aah, Sorry Uncle Harry!"

"S'okay. Nauseating isn't it?" He gestured towards her parents. Rose made the mistake of turning to look and for a few seconds, the two of them just stood there grimacing, with twin looks of disgust.

Rose stuck her tongue out, feeling sick. "You're just as bad with Aunt Ginny, so don't talk."

Harry shrugged, taking a sip of his butterbeer. "Guilty as charged."

"Er, Uncle Harry? Where's Scorp-Malfoy?"

Harry continued to stare off into mid-air as he answered. "It's a day off for all the aurors today. He'll be back tomorrow."

"Aah." Rose nodded. She had almost had a mini panic attack when she'd reached Godric's Hollow and Scorpius hadn't popped up a minute later. Then she'd reminded herself that she didn't need Scorpius' protection and that she should be mad at him for kissing her and then she'd remembered that_ she_ had kissed _him_ and then she'd just gotten confused and gone inside the house with Albus.

Maybe getting drunk with James and passing out on the couch was actually a good idea. She turned away from her distracted godfather/uncle and picked up a photo frame at random from the mantelpiece.

A group of cheery wizards waved at her, all of them looking happy and some even a bit tipsy.

"Aah Mad-eye gave that to me." Harry grasped the edge of the frame, peering down at the sepia picture. "Yeah…the original order of the phoenix."

"Really?" Rose said, interest piqued.

"Yep. That one is Benjy Fenwick. They only ever found bits of him." He pointed to a stately looking wizard in the middle. "Peter Pettigrew-rotten scumbag, you'll have heard all about him. Marlene Mckinnon, killed by death eaters. Edgar Bones- killed along with his wife, children and sister." He jabbed a wizard near the edge of the group who let out an indignant exclamation at being treated so roughly.

"Sorry…" Harry muttered.

Rose studied the man closely. He looked familiar.

"He looks familiar." She said out loud.

Harry frowned at the picture. "He's been dead since the First War. But he's related to Susan Bones. Maybe you see a family resemblance?"

Rose nodded slowly. "Yeah, that must be it." The wizard glared balefully up at her, patting down his robes. "Who's this then?"

"Oh, that's Caradoc Dearborn, vanished six months after the picture was taken…and this one here is-"

Harry continued to point out everyone in the snapshot, studiously avoiding the area where Lily and James Potter continued to wave at the camera, the picture of absolute happiness.

* * *

**AAAAAAAND Pal the Bad Ass is BACK! Not that you guys missed/noticed me. Nobody even asked about me in the reviews. I was so dissappointed, like. Im a special feature, you know. I had to drown my sorrows with Coca Cola. On the rocks. Yeah, I went there. Dont worry, Annevader and Palak held an intervention. Except they called my exes. Which made me all sad cause im single.**

**Whatever. This chapter is important for Annevader. She is all vacationing with her grandma in the Himalyas and harrassed our friend Palak to put it up. But alas, Palak's wifi betrayed her in the moment of need. So she called me. And since being magnanimous is a big part of being a bad ass, I offered to put it up.**

**So, we'll all really appreciate it if y'all review. It'll make Annevader's day. Trust me, Himalyas with grandmothers isnt all that fun as its made out to be. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

**No seriously. Review.**


	12. Here It Goes Again

**A/N: I'm back!...and stuck in tutions. I hate life. Anywho, massive thank you and many kisses to Pal the Bad Ass for uploading the last chapter (Right? Right?). Have not eaten for 24 hours and therefore must save brain cells. Keep this short, et al. I might occasionally include lyrics at the beginning of the chapter when i'm feeling particularly musically inclined- These lyrics are not mine! Okay? Okay.**

**Merci Beaucoup to those who revved: ooh, RoseWeasley85, tikincloks, Adira, scentasia, Love without expectation, ainat92, SaruDM, amy, lilbuddie715, Cass, Sundance1989, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, , XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, cantgetenough, xx-JacintaLuvsYa-xx, x-rayLady and euphoenix.**

**And alerters: Okay for now, judypkoi, xx-JacintaLuvsYa-xx, ****Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandu** , hgrbetter, HarryGinny465, Lucifer718 and frostykitten. Review you guys, so we can get to the bicentennial ASAP! :D

**In response to Cass' review: YES. :D**

**Amy-**** You're absolutely right, it IS a great motivator. In fact it's one of the only motivating factors for someone to upload their chapters. I mean, it's our incentive right? That, and the joy of writing, I suppose. ;) Well, keep guessing at who the killer is. Maybe you'll get it right. :D **

* * *

_Just when you think that you're in control,_

_Just when you think that you've got a hold,_

_Just when you get on a roll,_

_Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again._

_Here it goes again- OK Go_

Chapter 12:

"You want me…to go to Egypt?"

"Well, yes." Bill Weasley tugged at his collar and looked around for help even as Rose's eyebrows shot up.

It was no good of course. The study was empty aside from the two of them.

"Why now?" Rose asked suspiciously. "I've been angling for this trip for seven months now. And what about the rest of my team?"

Bill sighed, shifting his weight against the desk behind him. "Why not now? I mean, now is as good a time as any, right?"

Rose actually rolled her eyes at him. Honestly. She wasn't five years old. "You're sending me away because of what happened with the mansion and the aurors right?"

Bill grimaced and shrugged apologetically. "Not my decision, Rosie. Everyone was furious once they found out you'd been there. Scorpius is in trouble as well of course."

"Wait a second though," Rose interjected. "How did you all find out I was there in the first place? I didn't think anyone recognized me. Unless Scorp-"

"No. It wasn't Scorpius- though he really should have reported what you did, it was so reckless….honestly though, don't tell your dad I said this but I would have done the same if I were you. I wouldn't be able to sit back and relax knowing Al was in danger…" Bill broke off for a moment, staring contemplatively at the Gryffindor-red carpet. "Anyway, as I was saying, it was Proudfoot who told Harry he'd seen a girl with red hair hanging around who seemed to know Malfoy. Harry put two and two together of course. Very badly handled Rose, you should have been more discreet about it."

"Whatever." Rose said dismissively. "So what's the deal with Egypt?"

She was of course, quite surprised and more than a little amused that Bill approved of her escapades but there was no way she was addressing that admission. He'd backtrack faster than her dad confronted by a Potions textbook.

"Aah yes, Egypt. Well, you'll be joining the group currently stationed at the pyramid- whatever it was called- and they'll assign you whatever tasks they see fit. And don't look at me like that, you're still new to field work, they're not going to make you team leader or whatever."

Rose stopped pouting and straightened up. "What about my pet?"

Bill regarded her, confused. "Your….? Oh! You mean Scorpius. Erm, he's going along I suppose. I heard they wanted to send along someone else seeing as he apparently can't handle you during a crisis but the aurors can't really afford to send out more people at this time…"

Rose spluttered in indignation. "Handle me? Bloody hell, I'm not a crate marked fragile, in case you didn't notice! I can bloody well handle myself."

"I'm sure you can." He said diplomatically. "But that's not something I have a say in. I'm just the guy who had to pull in ten favours to get you on the next portkey to Egypt. I can't get passes for an entire team of people, Rosie. I really am sorry."

"It's alright, I s'pose." Rose acquiesced moodily. "Still, I suppose I _am _getting to go so that's a good thing…selfish as that sounds. Thanks, Uncle Bill."

Bill sighed in relief, glad she wasn't going to yell at him. Rose's temper really was a much-feared legend in the Potter-Weasley clan. He pulled the door open, stepping aside gallantly to let her through. "After you. Let's join the others before they start pelting dungbombs at the door, yeah?"

XXXXXXXXX

"Dom, honestly….I can pack my own bags…."

"Poppycock! If I let you at it alone, Merlin only knows what rubbish you'd think to take along."

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's not 'poppycock'. Dom, I really don't trust your judgment when it comes to my clothes."

Dominique gasped in mock-hurt. "How dare you insinuate that my skills are sub-standard or in any way deficient?"

"Err…that's not what I said. I just think that maybe we want different things out of clothes…"

Dom waved a beaded red top around. "Claptrap! Clothes are clothes. We all want the same thing out of them. And do you know what that thing is, Rosie?"

"Umm…to be comfortable and not have to walk around in the nude in public?"

"Balderdash! What we want is to look _good_! We want to showcase our assets to our best advantage! Always remember," she said sagely. "A well dressed woman is worth more than two wands and a thestral. Beauty is power, my friend." She clutched the beaded top to her chest in a reverent salute, gaze fixed on a distant horizon.

Rose scoffed. "Dom, I'm going to _Egypt. _To work in the pyramids. I'm not going to be wearing a dragonhide corset and feather boa while I'm at it!"

Dominique shrugged in response, turning around to rummage in Rose's closet. "I bought most of this stuff anyway, so I may as well pack for you. Now, how about something like this..?"

She tugged out a printed summer dress, holding up a pair of wedges next to it.

Rose sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll take the ruddy dress. Don't think I'll need the shoes though…"

Dom chucked both dress and shoes into the half full trunk and turned back to the cupboard. "Rose, you're going to Egypt with an incredibly fit male specimen. I'm not letting you dress in overalls and combat boots. God, it's going to be so romantic with the two of you jetting off to Merlin knows where, all alone with just the stars for company…" Dom sighed happily even as Rose's jaw hit the floor.

"DOM! What the f-Come on! Me and Malfoy? Nuh uh! We already went down that road remember? And it did NOT work! And this is a _business _trip! With….business to take care of!"

"Sure, sure…"Dom said dryly, looking at her through narrowed eyes. "And can you really sit there and tell me you haven't wanted to snog him senseless even once?"

Rose's mouth opened and closed for a full ten seconds as the gears in Dom's mind whirred and slowly clicked into place. Her mouth fell open, "Aaaaieeeee! What did you do! Rosie, did you sleep with him?"

"Wha-NO! God, no! Why would you even think-"  
"Well, did you kiss him then?" She demanded, grasping Rose's arms.

Rose was aware that she was blushing furiously but she nodded almost imperceptibly, hoping Crazy-Dom would let go of her.

"I don't believe this!" Dom released her abruptly, clambering onto the bed beside her. "When? How? Why?"

Rose groaned, shielding her face with a pillow. "After we got back from the ministry…As for how and why…Well do you really want to know _how _we did it?"

Dom grimaced. "Okay maybe not that. But really, the nerve of him! I can't believe he just kissed you!"

"Er, actually-"

"What?"

"Umm, I'm sort of the one who kissed him." Rose shrugged helplessly as Dom sat back on her heels and looked at her for a full two minutes. "Wow." She said eventually. "Well. That's it. I'm packing your thongs."

"What?"

"Well," Dom said, twisting a lock of blonde hair around her finger. "Clearly you two cannot keep your hands off each other. I think you're going to have sex pretty soon- unless you want to own up about something else, hmm?"

Rose made a choking sound, beginning to give up on her cousin. "Shut up! We're not-We're not even…we don't like each other that way anymore. I mean, I don't even trust him, how on earth am I supposed to _like _the bloody bloke? And I thought you didn't like him either!"

"It's not about _like _Rosie." Dom said patiently. "It's about carnal need. And anyway, it's been a bajillion years since you guys broke up, I think it's safe to say you can get past your differences now…"

"Don't be so naïve, Dom. It doesn't work that way. And anyway, I don't even know how he feels about the- about what we did. I've been with Al at Mungos and then we had the funeral…and now it's his 'day off' or whatever. I don't think we've been alone since then."

Dom sighed and walked back towards the wardrobe. "Fine. We'll see. He's a good bloke Rosie…And, well…maybe you weren't exactly spot-on when you accused him of using you back in school…Anyway, what do I know? Now, should we go with the khaki shorts or the denim ones? What do you think-…."

Rose turned Dom's words over in her head, wondering with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach if Dom could possibly be right. What if Scorpius _hadn't _been using her? What if he really was innocent with no agenda or ulterior motives? Had she screwed up massively or dodged a hex? She hadn't given him too many chances to explain. She'd always been able to come up with a lame excuse every time he'd tried to talk to her. What if-

Rose shook her head and tuned back into Dom's monologue. It was all ancient history, anyway. It didn't matter because she didn't like Scorpius that way anymore…no, it was just lust or 'carnal need' or whatever. Yeah, that's what it was. And she was sure she'd get over that soon enough. After all she was Rose Weasley, and she thought with her head, not….other parts.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Have you got everything?"

"For the last time, yes! Merlin!"

"Well, I'm just checking. Our portkey is in precisely 43 minutes so I suggest you hurry it up unless you want to travel the muggle way."

"Bloody hell, Scorp. What are you, my mother?"

"No," he smirked down at her. "That would be incest."

Rose pinned him with a glare and strode around him, heading towards the kitchen.

"Did you pack your toothbrush?"

"Yes." She bit out, roughly pulling a banana from its bunch.

"Towels? Sunscreen? Tampons?"

Rose choked on the banana and whirled around, eyes blazing. "_Malfoy!"  
_He laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll shut up. But really, did you remember to keep your muggle cell phone?"

Shite! She hadn't even thought about that.

"Erm. Yes." Rose mumbled, looking around shiftily.

"Really?" He said smoothly, taking a slim black object out of his pocket. "I suppose that's how it ended up with me then. Have a habit of leaving stuff in men's pants Rosie?"

Rose gaped at him, cheeks colouring. "At least there's _something _in your pants for once." She said snidely. "I can't believe you went through my stuff! You're such a creep!"

"A useful creep. Nice innuendo by the way. But I'll have you know there's quite a lot going on down there. I could show you if you'd like."

"Umm no thank you. I'd have to fetch my spectacles. I'm unable to see microscopic objects without a visual aid." Rose made to snatch her phone away from him, but Scorpius held it out of her reach, tutting at her.

"That was mean, Rosie. You wound me deeply."

"I'll do much worse if you don't give that back, you prat!" Rose snarled at him, standing on the tips of her toes to reach the black object. Where the bloody fuck had she left her wand again?

"Well," Scorpius said casually, raising his fist even higher till her fingers were scrabbling uselessly against his wrist. "I could cut you a deal. What are you willing to do for me if I give this back to you, eh?"

Rose gasped in mock-outrage. "Do_ for_ you? Well, I could not do you _in _for starters."

"Har Har. Ever the comedian, aren't we? Well, how about a kiss?"

Rose froze in her position, eyes widening. Her fingers were wrapped around his wrist and she let go quickly. "Er-"

"What?" He said mockingly, his eyes seeming to issue an unspoken challenge. "You were fine with it a couple of days ago."

Rose flushed, suddenly noticing how close together they were. She was practically on top of him, for Merlin's sake! She took a step back, her hand falling from his shoulder where she'd gripped it to steady herself. "That was different." She mumbled.

"Different how?"

Rose ignored the question, her insides burning in humiliation. Why was he bringing this up? She tried to divert his attention, glancing up at the phone. "Are you going to give that back?"  
"I want my kiss." He said adamantly.

"Well, the mirror's all yours." Rose retorted.

Scorpius quirked an eyebrow at her, looking completely at ease and highly amused.

"We don't have all day, Rosie. And anyway, you know you want to…"

Rose felt her blush deepening, surprised that it was even possible. The thing was, she sort of _did_ want to….And this confused her deeply. She hated Scorpius! She was supposed to detest him! Well, okay…so hate was a strong word but she held a…deep dislike for him. Right? So why did she want to press her lips against his and lean in till they were- oh, Merlin. She was in trouble, alright.

Lust. It was lust. Right.

"Fine," She sniffed snootily. "You'll probably die from deprivation if I keep my divine self away from you anyway."

Scorpius had only a moment to look surprised that she'd actually agreed before she leaned in and kissed him quickly, lingering for a few seconds longer than she'd intended to.

She pulled away and Scorpius grinned at her. "Well. I'm impressed. You win, Cherie."

Her face and neck turned the colour of the Hogwarts express as he slid the thin phone into her back pocket, looking right into her eyes.

Rose looked away first, highly flustered and unable to believe that she'd actually kissed him. Again. Was that Gryffindor courage or Gryffindor stupidity?

She cleared her throat awkwardly, breaking the silence.

"Don't we have a portkey to catch?"

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**A/N (READ IT!): Do you think Pal the Bad Ass should continue to entertain us with her witty(?) columns? If yes, say AYE! If no, say NAY! But you'll break her(our) heart(s). Now you better say something, or we'll be crying into our ice cream all night.**

**Next chapter will be up super-duper fast because I know this was slightly filler-ish though necessary. Also, I want to reach 200. Don't you? **


	13. Egypt

**Love and Thanks to all those who reviewed: XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, lunapeacock, KCornish13, euphoenix, frostykitten, SaruDM, Amy, Lovewithoutexpectation, Sundance1989, whathappenedtotruelove, lilbuddie715, Missdagane, roseweasley85, anonymous, ainat92, x-rayLady, rachel and TheInnerMusingsOfMe.**

**You guys are awesome, donut-points for all of you for sticking along so far! We are officially more than halfway done with this story. **

**And to all the flirt-alerts (excuse my oddness): CREEPYxLOVE, caroline88, whathappenedtotruelove, camii88, TheMaskedUnknown and SuperShenni.**

**Okay, Disclaimer: I have never been to Egypt and I apologize if i have gotten any details wrong about the cities/culture/languages/people. Please do not be put off by any mistakes you may find as offence was not my intention. **

**And now, to the chapter...**

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Chapter 13:

"So….it's Oasis hotel right?"

"Yup. I would have preferred a wizarding institution of course. Interaction with muggles tends to get messy." Scorpius said, checking the map in his hands.

"Well, you clearly have a lot of friends…" Rose muttered under her breath. Honestly, interaction with muggles tended to get 'messy'? Were all his friends wizards?

"It's on Cairo-Alexandria desert road. Now where the fuck is that?"

Rose turned to examine the map. "Umm, it's about twenty kilometers from here….Crap! It's twenty kilometers from here! How are we supposed to get there?"

Rose looked helplessly around the busy street. There were cars with 'taxi' signs zooming around, picking up passengers every few minutes. She'd never actually used muggle transportation. Back in England, if she'd ever been unable to apparate, she'd just walked or taken the knight bus.

Rose shielded her eyes and looked up at the pyramids, towering over the city skyline. It really was amazing how you could see them even behind all the metal and glass structures the city was made of.

She turned to Scorpius, noting that he was looking towards the pyramids as well. "We could take a cab…" she suggested half-heartedly. Scorpius turned his gaze to her. "Screw that, I'm apparating."

"Scorp! You can't apparate to a place you've never been before! What if you end up in a wall or in someone's house or something? We did this in school, remember! It was one of the first things they taught us in apparition lessons, right after the three Ds and I really think you ought to-"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm. "Don't be such a worrywart. I'm sure we'll be fine. Trunks still in your pocket?"

Rose patted her coat pocket, feeling the bump made by her shrunken luggage. "Yeah…"

"Good." He twisted on the spot, enveloping them in darkness. They reappeared with a sharp crack, layers of dust flying over them.

Rose coughed and tried to move away, banging her head against something hard. It was completely dark around them. "Oh my God!" She breathed, panic creeping in. "We _are _inside a wall! You've killed us, you prat!"

Even in the dark, she could sense Scorpius' disdain. "Don't be stupid, if we were inside a wall, we'd be crushed-"

A blinding light hit them as a door was flung open, revealing a large silhouette.

"من أنت؟"

"Sorry, what?" Rose said dumbly.

The swarthy man glared at her, looking completely outraged. "Who are you?" He tried again.

"Ah! Oh. Umm, I don't know, who are you?" Rose said nervously, elbowing Scorpius in the side. He hissed in pain, elbowing her back.

"Prat!"

"Pardon?" The man said.

"Uhm, nothing. Could you tell us where we are?"

"Yes," the man glowered at them both, hoisting up the apron around his waist in indignation. "You are in my shop, hiding in my cabbages. Why is this?"

"Erm-" Rose floundered for a reply. They were _where? _

"We're very sorry." Scorpius said, cutting in. "The lady needed to adjust her attire and we didn't want to do it in the shop lest we scare the customers."

He smiled winningly at the man, who grunted in response. "And you were helping her? Lucky man. Very well, be off with you. And if I find something missing…." He trailed off warningly, fixing them with a stern look.

"Thanks, mate." Scorpius clapped the man on the back as they filed past him. The man grunted again and thumped Scorpius on the back. Rose had to bite her tongue to stop from laughing when she heard him give an 'oomph' as the breath was knocked out of him.

They walked out of the shop, attracting curious stares the whole way as they exited the storeroom with disheveled clothes and dust in their hair. Finally, they stepped back out into the scorching heat, brushing off their clothes.

"Never again," Rose mumbled.

"I'll say…" Scorpius pivoted on the spot, pointing to a sprawling estate, covered in lush green grass and palm trees. "That should be it."

They completed the ten minute journey in silence, picking their way through the street, avoiding the herds of tourists trundling past in double-decker buses. It was with immense relief that they stepped into the cool lobby of the hotel.

Rose tapped the bell on the front desk and a manager with well oiled hair turned to face them. His eyebrows contracted and he blanched visibly as he took in their dusty appearance. "How may I be of service?" He said, looking very much as though he'd rather not be of service to the likes of them.

"We need two adjoining rooms for a week or so."

The manager looked relieved as he answered. "Aah, I'm afraid we're all booked out. We have no vacancy to suit those requirements. We've a very busy establishment after all…perhaps if you'd reserved in advance?"

Rose and Scorpius glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. They weren't used to issues of 'no space'. There were charms after all, undetectable extensions and space contractors…but they were of course, dealing with muggles. Honestly, reservations…

"And there's not a single room available?" Scorpius tried.

"No." Rose and the manager said together. Both men turned to look at her and she cleared her throat awkwardly, looking away.

"Not for such a long period I'm afraid," The man said happily. "I suggest you seek accommodation elsewhere, Sir."

Giving up the hotel as a lost job, Scorpius nodded in assent and turned to leave.

"Goodbye!" The manager said cheerfully as they exited, his voice laced with an undercurrent of triumph. "I wish you luck!"

Scorpius turned to look at Rose, who was staring determinedly at a potted plant to their left.

"Well," he said heavily. "What did I say about muggles? Messy little buggers."

Rose hummed in response.

XXXXXX

"You have _got _to be kidding me."

"Nope."

"You have_ got_ to be kidding me." Rose said again.

"Er-not really." Scorpius looked at her quizzically and pushed his way through the doors into the motel. "Are you coming?"

Rose sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She seemed to be engaged in a mental debate for a few seconds, until finally she looked up again, squaring her shoulders. "Yeah. Let's do this."  
"Good girl." Scorpius smirked to himself as she shot him an irritated glare.

He tapped the bell on the worn down front desk, wincing as he heard yet another sickly tinkling sound. They'd tried all the big hotels in the area and apparently all of them were 'booked out' or simply had 'no vacancies, sorry.'

What was it with muggles and going on holiday? Did they really require so much space? And why were there so many of them? He'd finally given up on getting a decent hotel and resigned himself to having to stay in one of the many dilapidated looking motels at the fringes of the city.

It would be sort of disgusting of course, staying in them, but he was sure a few cleaning spells would make the place more tolerable.

He was almost startled as a smallish man popped up from behind the desk, grinning at them boyishly.

"Room fer two?"

"Uhh," Scorpius glanced at Rose, who was looking about at the other patrons of the place interestedly. "Actually, do you have two adjoining rooms?"

"Nope." The man said happily.

"Really?" Scorpius asked skeptically.

"Yep."

"Well how about one room then?"

"Yep."

"Yes? Okay, yes. One room then." The man nodded happily and turned to the cubby holes behind his desk, searching for a room key.

"Rose."

"Huh? Yeah, do they have space?"

"Umm yeah they do. But only one room. We're going to have to share-"

"What?" Rose hissed at him. "Are you nuts? I'm not sharing a room with you! That is completely out of the question."

The short man turned back to them, looking warily between them. "Is honeymoon?" He asked, gesturing with his hand.

"God, no." Rose said acerbically. "As if-"

Scorpius butted in before she said something stupid. "Can we have our key? Yeah, cheers."

He swiped the keys from the confused man's grasp and dragged a fuming Rose behind him.

"This is ridiculous." She hissed. "Sharing rooms- bloody hell! If I ever encounter that bloody killer, I'm going to cut his bollocks off, the little-"

"O-kaaay." Scorpius held up his hands. "Right, we have room number 36. That's the top floor probably. Coming?"

He turned to ascend the stairs, Rose letting out a frustrated huff behind him.

"Yeah, whatever." She muttered eventually. "Lead the way, O' great one."

Scorpius led the way, hoping she wasn't going to hex him when he wasn't looking.

XXXXXX

"You can sleep on the couch."

"I'm not sleeping on the couch, Rosie."

"You're sleeping on the couch."

"There is no couch."

"….Oh."

Rose looked at the bed and she looked at Scorpius. And then she looked at the empty space where there should have been a sofa or a chair or _something. _

She waved her wand at a pillow and it twisted out of shape, turning into a lumpy looking mattress.

"There." She said firmly. "Problem solved."

She turned triumphantly towards the queen sized bed to see Scorpius sprawled across it, eyes closed. So much for chivalry. She cursed him under her breath and chucked her shrunken trunk onto her mattress, expanding it magically.

This trip was going to be a complete and utter disaster.

XXXXXXX

Rose tugged nervously at her shorts as she waited for the expedition's leader to receive her. It was scorching hot and looking around at the tanned wizards at the site, she was glad she'd packed her sunscreen. She didn't tan, she just burned.

Next to her, Scorpius was staring idly off towards the pile of rubble in front of them which was supposed to be the pyramid post-glamour. She turned to observe it as well, shading her eyes with one hand. There were about ten people milling around it, appearing and disappearing randomly at a single point. As she watched, one of the wizards sent a shower of purple sparks towards the structure. He nodded knowingly and jotted something down on a piece of parchment suspended in front of him.

"Rose Weasley?"

Rose turned to greet the woman who'd called her name. Her eyebrows shot up as she got her first look at the team leader- technically, her replacement. Her glossy black hair cascaded down her back and around her shoulders, her skin glowing with a healthy tan. She offered Rose a toothy smile and extended her right hand delicately. "Natalie Valdez, expedition leader."

Rose took the proffered hand, smiling back. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I've heard a lot about you from Bill."

"Oh, you know my uncle Bill?"

Natalie winked at her. "Quite well, actually. We've, ahh…worked together in the past."

Rose nearly gagged at the insinuation, forcing herself to keep the smile on her face.

Natalie let go of her hand and leaned around her, a mega-watt smile lighting up her face. "And who's this?"

Rose felt her stomach twist as she turned around to see that Natalie's feral-er, friendly- gaze was fixed on Scorpius. "This is-"

"Scorpius Malfoy." He introduced himself smoothly, turning his attention to the leggy brunette.

Natalie's smile grew more pronounced and she extended her hand again, gripping Scorpius' delicately. "Pleasure to meet you. Am I going to be seeing a lot of you?"

Rose cleared her throat, a mix of horror, disgust and something else burning her from the inside as Scorpius and Natalie smiled at each other. She noted that Natalie was now holding onto Scorpius' hand with both of her own, hip cocked to the side and one knee slightly bent in the universal coming-on pose.

She vaguely registered Scorpius replying as Natalie's tinkling laughter filled the air.

"So, Scorpius- can I call you that?- what brings you here? Seeking a wild desert adventure? Perhaps I can help with that…"

Rose watched with growing disbelief as Natalie-still gripping his hand- towed Scorpius along with her, heading towards the campsite, clearly having forgotten all about her.

She shook her head and clenching her teeth, stomped after them.

What the hell had just happened?

* * *

**A/N: As you can see, there is a new b!tch in town...or something. **

**Umm, anyway, LISTEN UP. Important: The next few chapters are like a sub-plot within the story to give y'all a break from all the stuff going on back in Ye Olde Englande. I certainly hope it won't be boring for you guys. And if it is, then I have a couple of things planned to make up for it. Also, I am aware that chapter 12 and and 13 are not up to scratch as I had major writer's block when I was doing these two. Hopefully, I'm over that and can continue to churn out quality stuff after this. **

**Okay, that's all! **

**See you all next chapter, which should be up Wednesday (depending on your timezone). ie. approx 48 hours. **


	14. Friends & Enemies

**A/N: We made 200! Yayyy! Am very very thrilled about this. **

**Which is why, this chapter is dedicated to _Cass_ who was not only the 200th reviewer but has also reviewed consistently since the first chapter. Thanks a bazillion- I've always appreciated your reviews and they have always made me smile :) I hope you'll continue to stick around for the rest of this story!**

**And of course, thanks to all the other brilliant people who reviewed: Zara Alexandros, x-rayLady, xiLynnx, SaruDM, eupheonix, Love without expectation, lunapeacock, amy, Missdagane, OMG I'm the tin dog, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, Rachel, Sundance1989, lilbuddie715, Cass- of course!, ohmygolly, ainat92, Tishica an tikinclocks.**

**I love all of you guys. You literally make writing/updating addictive for me with the fun comments and sometimes, even the praise you leave! Aah, it's enough to inflate anyone's ego ;) **

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Chapter 14:

"Okay, so you'll be good for it once I'm done. Hang on a minute."

The young wizard in front of her tapped her sharply on the head with his wand, muttering a long spell under his breath. An unpleasant sensation of pins-and-needles ran through her, subsiding quickly.

"There. All done. Now, turn around."

Rose did as he said and nearly gasped as she took in the structure in front of her. It seemed golden in the afternoon sun, its shadow dark and rippling against the sand. It didn't look too different from any other pyramid around but somehow, to her anyway, it seemed more special. And not just because she'd helped re-discover it. There was just something about it. Oh, and the small fact that it probably had traces of dark magic still clinging to it.

"It's really something isn't it?" The wizard next to her asked cheerfully.

"Yeah…" Rose agreed. "It really is."

Adam smiled at her and Rose returned the gesture. Adam Dyer- he was one of the younger wizards on the expedition, probably only a bit older than her. It made her wonder how old Natalie was, if she'd managed to become leader of the group…she didn't look older than twenty seven-eight, at any rate.

"So the entrance is-"

"I know where the entrance is, I found it." Rose cut in, slightly crabbily.

"Er, right. Sorry. I keep forgetting." Adam said contritely. "So, what've done so far is, we've managed to get as far as the entrance chamber. It took ages to take the wards off that part alone. Godric knows how many dark curses they've rigged the place with…"

"Hmm." There was a brief silence as the two continued to regard the looming structure.

"So, Rose," Adam said casually. "Who's that guy you came with?"

Rose turned to look at him warily. "You mean Malfoy?"

"Malfoy, huh? As in, Malfoy Junior? Interesting." Rose wasn't sure but she thought Adam's eyes glinted weirdly for a second before he turned to face her and said, "Do you think you could score me an introduction? Or are you two, you know, together?"

"Uhh" Rose gaped at him, not expecting the question. Well it wasn't the question itself, it was the way he'd said it... "Are you….?"

"Gay?" Adam supplied cheerfully. "Yup! And let me tell you, Mr. Malfoy over there is a _stud_. It's too much to hope he likes men though, right?"

Rose stared at him dumbfounded, for a moment before a fit of laughter seized her at the image of Scorpius cozying up to another guy.

Adam sighed disappointedly. "No? Too bad. I suppose he's the womanizing sort."

"Uhh yeah." Rose agreed, grinning at Adam. _And you would be too,_ she added mentally. Adam was pretty much a 'stud' himself. His light brown hair flopped casually into his striking blue eyes and the tan he'd earned under the hot sun complimented his features nicely. If Rose had a hot-o-meter (which she did, back in Hogwarts, when her and Dom used to rate all the guys they saw), he would have been a nine easy. Maybe even a ten…

"I'll get over it. Besides I'd much rather have a hot Egyptian boyfriend. Seriously Rosie, you have to check out some of the blokes out here- they're brilliant. Is it okay if I call you that, by the way?"

Rose blinked under the onslaught of his sudden chattiness. "Call me what?"

"Rosie, of course!"

"Sure." She grinned wryly. How was it everyone insisted on calling her that?

"Awesome. Okay, Rosie, now tell me what the deal with you and Malfoy over there is. Before that ruddy Gnat gets her claws into him."

Rose let out a frustrated sigh. "Nothing. There's no deal. He's just my…uhh…"

She trailed off, not knowing what to say. He was her what? He was her bodyguard but she wasn't supposed to tell anyone that. And there was no way in hell she was saying he was a) her stalker- after all, that one turned out _so_ well before; Or b) her boyfriend. Not while he and Natalie were making goo-goo eyes at each other anyway. That would make her the girl everyone knows is going to be dumped.

She looked over to them and saw Natalie pointing at the apex of the pyramid and saying something animatedly. Scorpius was nodding, hands in his pockets, looking laid-back as ever. She scowled as she realized Natalie had used the anti-glamour spell on Scorpius and hadn't bothered with Rose at all.

She shook her head, realizing it had been a full two minutes since she'd left her sentence unfinished. Adam was giving her a knowing look, having followed the direction of her gaze.

"Like I said, it's nothing. He's, well," Rose considered what to say- She was in Egypt, who gave a toss if she told Adam the truth? There was no one trying to do her in over here, was there? "He's my bodyguard." She admitted, relieved at having finally told someone.

It was horrible getting strange looks from all her friends back in England whenever they saw her being trailed by Scorpius. They probably thought they were together or something ridiculous like that…

Adam's eyebrows shot up. "Bodyguard?" He echoed.

"Yes…" Rose said warily. Was he going to call her paranoid and delusional? Or maybe he'd get freaked out and leave…

"That…" Adam said slowly. "…is bloody hot."

Rose laughed out of sheer surprise. "Hot?"

"Yeah! Merlin, if I had a bloke that fit guarding _my _body…." He grinned wickedly at her and waggled his eyebrows sending Rose into a fresh bout of giggles.

"So why do you need a bodyguard?" Adam asked curiously.

Rose grimaced. "I can't-"

"-tell me? S'alright, I didn't expect you to. This is supposed to be a secret right? Don't worry, I won't tell on you." Adam winked at her and she beamed at him, feeling ridiculously happy that she'd already found someone she didn't mind hanging around.

It was oddly like being in first year again. Natalie and all the others were the mean seniors and she was the newbie who'd finally made her first friend. Except of course, it had never really been too bad for Rose in Hogwarts what with her extensive family.

"So," Adam said, drawing her attention back to him. "How long have you been shagging your bodyguard?"

XXXXXXXXX

"Okay, so Dyer, Millie, Nathaniel, Carroll, Rose, Scorpius and of course me, are going to go inside first. The rest of you stay up here for now. We'll give you the all-clear when it's safe to come down. Any questions?"

There were a few protests by those not chosen for the first group but otherwise everyone remained mute, shrugging in acceptance.

"Alrighty then," Natalie said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Wands at the ready boys and girls. Follow me."

The group of six followed closely as she strode towards the entrance of the pyramid. She paused at the opening, turning to Scorpius. "You stay beside me, okay? You're new to this and if you get into trouble I'll be able to help you best. So, stay close!" She smiled at him coquettishly and brushed her fingers lightly over his hand before finally entering the pyramid.

Rose watched the exchange with disgust and followed, walking with Adam. The moment she took in the entrance chamber though, all thoughts of boys and bitches fled her mind. The chamber was surprisingly large and empty. In fact, it seemed that the entire pyramid was composed of only one cavernous room.

Raising her lit-up wand, she observed the sloping sides of the pyramid with confusion. Where were the partitions, the niches and alcoves, the sarcophagi? There were plenty of ancient relics scattered around at regular intervals, gold statues depicting Egyptian Gods and there was a throne on a pedestal in the centre. That in itself was odd. Why was there a throne in a place of death? Egyptians themselves had been too scared to linger unnecessarily in the pyramids as they were technically graveyards and chock-full of curses and death.

_Stay too long and you'll stay forever._

Rose shuddered as the thought crossed her mind. She shrugged it off, making her way towards Natalie.

"Is this it?" She whispered as he drew level with her. "Where's the rest of it?"

Natalie shrugged. "We don't know. I was thinking maybe there's an extension charm on the place or a fidelius used to disguise a doorway or something. In which case, it's going to be extremely hard to break through."

Rose surveyed the place slowly, eyes adjusting the darkness. "No…I don't think it's an extension. The dimensions are too even and those are easy to detect. If it was a fidelius, the charm would have been nullified as soon as the last keeper of the secret passed away. And that must have been thousands of years ago."

Natalie shrugged. "I suppose. Anyway, keep looking and tell me if you find something. You probably won't, of course, but whatever."

She turned away, clearly dismissing her and Rose scowled at her back before heading back to stand with Adam. He was running a gloved hand over a series of hieroglyphs carved into the wall. "What do you think?" he asked quietly.

"About the runes?"

"No," he said. "About the second entrance. There has to be one, somewhere in here. Where do you think they buried their dead?"

Rose pursed her lips and tried to make sense of it. The team was operating under the assumption that the main chambers had been concealed using magic. But the pyramids weren't built by wizards, they were built by ordinary muggles. And the ancient Egyptians wouldn't have constructed a pyramid with just a single throne room and a bunch of squiggles on the walls.

They were famous for concealing entrances and traps using ingenious devices. What if…an idea struck her, and she almost slapped herself for being so stupid. If she was right, then they were all mad for not having thought of it before! It was so bloody obvious….

She rushed over towards the throne, Adam following in her wake, and fell quickly to her knees in front of it, crouching low to examine the floor around the ostentatious chair. There were thin grooves running in a spiral around it, expanding outwards from a central point. The head of the chair was engraved with a single hieroglyph: The eye of Ra- the Egyptian Sun God.

Rose's confidence grew as she looked around at the dark chamber. There was no light in the pyramid aside from the faint illumination cast by the wands. At intervals around the walls were large basins with a single groove running from the spiral to each one.

Aligning her wand with the centre, the 'eye' of the spiral, she cast a spell. "_Incendio."_

The fire caught and ran along the grooves as if they were filled with oil. The others turned to watch, stunned by the sight of rivulets of fire running across the ground, filling the basins with roaring red and golden flames.

The antechamber was illuminated with a blazing light, forcing her to shut her eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light. As she blinked away the dark spots swimming in her vision, she saw the throne shimmer and disappear revealing a square entrance below it.

The seven of them crowded around the dark hole, staring speechlessly at the flight of steps leading downwards into murky darkness.

Rose grinned excitedly at this final proof.

The burial chamber wasn't _in _the pyramid, it was _underneath _it.

XXXXXXXXX

"Okay we're going to go in pairs." Natalie whispered. "I'll go with Scorpius, because he's new and-"

"No," He cut in firmly. "I'm going with Rose."

Natalie reared back. "But-"

Scorpius shook his head. "I don't care about the other pairs, but you're not separating us if it's dangerous down there."

_Yeah, and it's alright to separate us any other time, isn't it? _Rose thought acerbically.

"Fine," Natalie sounded petulant even as she said it. "You!" She snapped at Adam. "Walk with me. Millie go with Nathaniel and Jenna."

Millie nodded and stood between the quiet Nathaniel and Jenna Carroll.

"Come on then. And be careful."

She descended first, followed by Adam, then Rose. The passage they walked down was narrow, walls lining both sides of it as they descended in a spiral. It reminded Rose of the eagle passageway leading to the principal's office back in Hogwarts.

They emerged into a small chamber with two entrances in the opposite wall.

"Great." Natalie muttered. "We'll have to split up."

Rose looked at her skeptically. "Split up? That's a terrible idea. What if someone gets lost? And there are likely to be a lot more curses down here-"

"Listen, Weasley." Natalie hissed at her. "Don't question my methods. We were doing fine with the curses before you got here. _We _can handle it. _You_ just have beginner's luck."

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared between Natalie and Rose, taken aback by her words.

Rose's lips tightened perceptibly. "Right," She said in clipped tones. "We'll do it your way then, Valdez."

"Good." The brunette muttered, casting a disdainful look at Rose. "Nate, go left with Millie and Jenna. You three, come with me. We're going right."

"I certainly hope we are." Rose muttered as she walked into the yawning passageway. She was going to _kill _Natalie if anyone got hurt because of her stupid 'methods.'

XXXXXXX

"Do you guys see anything?" Nathaniel whispered.

"No." Jenna murmured back, ducking to avoid a large cobweb.

Nate nodded and continued on behind the two girls. The passage was too narrow for them to walk in anything but single file.

"Guys," he said. "This can't lead to the burial chamber, the passages are not wide enough for the sarcophagi to pass through."

That would be the right fork then, the one Natalie and Adam had taken. And the two newbies. He grimaced at the thought of it. Rose had a right to be there but what was the deal with the other bloke? Natalie wouldn't have let him come along if he hadn't been good looking, that much was for sure.

And to be honest, he agreed with the Weasley girl. Splitting up was a dumb idea, especially on their first foray into the underground chambers- which they probably would have never found if it wasn't for the redhead. It was amazing how she'd caught on to it so fast.

He bumped into Millie's back as she stopped abruptly.

"What is it?" he hissed, clutching his throbbing head where he'd hit it against hers. She didn't even seem to notice.

"Look." She pointed to an alcove. An idol of a woman with the head of a lion stood there, cobwebs draped around its figure. The irises were inlaid with rubies and glittered menacingly in the wand light.

"Sekhmet." Millie whispered. "The Eye of Ra."

"Er, yeah." Nate said. "Goddess of destruction, yadda yadda. Can we move now?"

Millie continued to gaze at the statue, eyes wide with rapturous wonder. "She's beautiful."

"Umm, Mills, she has the head of a lion. And anyway, we're looking for magic artifacts remember? Not statues."

Millie's head whipped around, eyes burning with wild fury as she looked at him. "Quiet! She's not a statue!"

Nate took a step back, unnerved by the intensity of Millie's anger.

"What's got your knickers in a twist? It _is _a statue, Mills. And it's not magic, so keep moving."

He prodded her in the back and she stumbled forward, glaring at him once more before following behind Jenna.

Nate glanced at the statue a final time before moving on, not noticing as the red eyes flashed with unnatural light.

For a second, they almost seemed to have moved, tracing the path of the three wizards as they left. But then they were gone, and there was no further movement in the passage.

XXXXXXXXX

"Rose…."

"Ow! Quit pushing, Adam."

"Rose!"

"_What?"_

"Umm, RUN!"

"Wha-? WHY IS THERE A GIANT FUCKING ROCK ROLLING AT US?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"DYER!"

"RUN, you idiots!"

* * *

**A/N: Take that last scene as a sneak-peek rather than a cliffie and we're good to go.**

**Okay. V. Imp, listen please!**

**What happens in the pyramid is like a mini-story for a couple of chapters. Any creepy stuff going on has nothing to do with the killer in England and we'll be back to our usual fun, plotline soon enough- complete with murder and sexual tension.**

**And I can promise this because I've almost finished writing the story. Sniff. There are going to be about 22 chapters total, so I suppose this is more of a novella than a novel. **

**Ooh, What do you think of Adam? I love Adam. And Dom. Power to friend-zone characters. **

**And what do you think of Natalie now?**

**Pardon me for my deplorably uninspired chapter title. I'm the girl who used to call an essay about a tsunami 'Tsunami.'**


	15. Trouble

**A/N: For those who left unsigned reviews, your replies are at the end of the chapter. I've just realized that this fic has been up for slightly over a month now! It's amazing how far it's come since then...much further than I'd dared to hope. So thank you, guys, for making this so special for me :)**

**Big cootie-filled kisses to all the reviewers: euphoenix, SaruDM, QueenMinnie, Love without expectation, RoseWeasley85, amy, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Rachel, Missdagane, Tishica, CrimsonBludger83, Wendie R. J, x-rayLady, ohmygolly, lilbuddie715, Sundance1989, emeralda363, Cass, TheInnerMusingsOfMe and Anonymous.**

**Greetings and acknowledgment to those who alerted(ie. new readers): teddyandlilyforever, Tishica, Manimaniac, AnHonoraryWeasley, Queen Minnie, CrimsonBludger83, vampire-nic1, desibookworm and JennEm236.**

* * *

_There's a ghost in my lungs and it sighs in my sleep_

_Wraps itself around my tongue as it softly speaks_

_And Then it walks, Then it walks with my legs_

_To fall, to fall, to fall at your feet_

I'm not calling you a liar- Florence and the Machine

Chapter 15:

"Confringo! Reducto! Impedimenta- DAMMIT! Why is nothing working?"

"Fucked if I know!"

Rose's legs pumped madly beneath her, her sides burning from exertion as she fought to keep running, just ahead of Natalie but still behind the two men who overtook them easily with their loping strides. She curbed the urge to duck out of the way or just stop running. Either one was suicide. The giant boulder- fuck all knew where it came from- was so wide there was only an inch of space between its surface and the walls.

Obviously it was a trap and not a very uncommon one at that but unlike normal boulders which stopped when you ordered them to, this one was completely impervious to magic. She looked up, red hair flopping into her eyes which widened when she realized she could only spot Scorpius' blonde head in front of her. Where was Adam? Twisting around, she realized Natalie was gone as well. Which wasn't much of a pity really…

"Rose!"

Rose's head whipped around at the sound. Just ahead of her, in a crevice in the wall, were Natalie and Adam, beckoning frantically. It was more of an alcove really. Her heart leapt as she realized there was enough space for all of them to fit in and duck around the boulder. She careered to the left, but her diagonal route slowed her down.

"Fuck!" She swore violently and veered to the right again, picking up her pace as the rock nearly crushed her. She looked back desperately but it was no use; the boulder continued to advance and Natalie and Adam were now safely on the other side. Her steps began to lag as the last vestiges of her energy faltered. And then a hand was circling her wrist and yanking her harshly, forcing her to keep moving.

"Scorpius!" Rose cried with relief. She'd almost forgotten about him.

"Keep running!" He yelled at her, without turning back.

"C-can't!" She managed to gasp out, her free hand clutching the stitch in her side.

She heard him swear profusely and rather creatively before he jerked to a halt and grabbed her around the waist. Her world flipped upside down as he tossed her unceremoniously over his shoulder and charged down the tunnel, panting heavily.

"Malfoy!" She yelped, clutching on to his shirt in fright. What was he doing?

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Saving your arse, Weasley!" He yelled back.

She looped one arm around his shoulders trying her hardest not to slip off; it wasn't exactly the smoothest mode of transportation.

She heard him yell out but couldn't make out the words. He skidded to a halt and she landed in an undignified heap at his feet, wand flying out of her hand.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She screeched again, though for very different reasons this time.

"I have an idea!"

"Oh, _now _you have an idea! Well, great, thanks a-"

"_Deprimo!"_

The ground in front of the gaining rock exploded inwards. Rose watched with baited breath as it teetered on the edge…and kept rolling.

Scorpius swore and they ran, Rose scooping up her wand at the last possible moment. He went backwards though, using the same spell over and over, each indentation in the ground acting as a speed-breaker until finally the boulder hit one and stayed in it, rocking back and forth for a while before settling in, mercifully stationery.

For a few moments the only sound in the corridor was of their ragged breathing as they drank in the sight of the immobile wall of rock blocking their exit.

Scorpius collapsed against the wall, sliding down. Rose went to join him, knees feeling like jelly.

There was a blank silence, eventually broken by Rose.

"Excellent idea," She said.

XXXXXXXXX

"Mills, _will _you stop humming that ruddy tune? It's irritating!" snapped Jenna.

Nathaniel agreed wholeheartedly. In fact, if Millie didn't stop humming creepily very soon, he was going to knock her out with a handy Egyptian relic and drag her unconscious and blissfully silent body back upstairs.

Millie's loud laughter echoed around them, bouncing off the walls so it sounded like ten different people laughing. Nathaniel couldn't stop the shiver that ran through his body at the eerie effect.

"Fine, you sour puss. I'll stop singing." She said genially, waving her wand about as if it was a toy.

Nathaniel look around the room they'd finally emerged in. It was huge, the ceiling far above them. The space was inconsistent with the rest of the pyramid actually. It was too large, too deep, too broad. He figured it was the same principle as magical tents and cars. But seeing it applied to a real, vast space was really something. The amount of power required to magically expand the inner dimensions of an entire chamber was huge.

He wandered away from Jenna and Millie, examining the piles of junk lying around. Well, not junk but not exactly anything of use to them. There were old board games-of all things, more statues, a couple of idols and even the odd mummified cat or two: Objects to prevent the old Egyptians from getting bored in the afterlife.

He snorted and picked up an old necklace from a pile. It looked innocuous enough but as he touched it, the claws holding the green gemstone in, parted and bit him on the hand. He dropped it hastily and held his throbbing hand up to the wandlight. He grimaced at the blood and cleaned it up with a neat flick. It didn't hurt too much and nothing odd was happening to his hand so he supposed it was alright. He added _'Bitten by a necklace' _to the list of odd things that had happened to him over the years and moved on.

Nate sifted through the pile of jewelry, more careful this time, looking for more cursed objects. He stopped suddenly, noticing something odd. He cocked his head to the side, standing up slowly. It was…too quiet. He spun around quickly, looking for the girls. His head whirled a bit as he did so.

"Jenna?" He called out. "Millie?"

There was a short pause; and then a laugh reverberated around the cavernous space, sending familiar chills down his spine.

"Millie?" he tried. "I can hear you, Mills. Where are you guys, this isn't funny-"

A piercing shriek cut him off, his words withering and dying in his throat.

"Jenna?" His voice wavered. "Mills?"

The silence was punctuated with a drawn out howl of agony.

Fear rushing through his veins, and dizziness sweeping his brain, Nate jolted into action, running towards the sound.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh God, they're dead!"

"They're not _dead, _you prat."

"How would _you _know?" Adam said accusingly, his voice uncomfortably high.

Natalie sighed in exasperation. "Shut up you wanker. I know they're not dead because….well, I just know. Anyway, I'm sure Scorpius thought of something."

Adam snorted sardonically. "Yes, I'm sure wonder-boy came up with a handy solution and saved the damsel-in-distress in the nick of time."

Natalie picked a bit of dirt out of her perfect fingernails and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now follow me. We have to see if we can help at least."

"Yeah," Adam muttered under his breath. "Help get their bodies out of the wreckage."

But he went along nonetheless, the two curse breakers following the destructive path of the giant boulder.

XXXXXXXX

"We're doomed." Scorpius said comfortably. "So you may as well lay here and enjoy your last moments with the hottest bloke on the planet."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

"You just did." He pointed out.

"It wasn't a response, it was a rejoinder."

"Define rejoinder."

"Shut up."

"Incorrect. Try again."

"Shut up."

"…."

Rose's head dropped into her hands as she gave up transforming their entrance into an exit as a lost job. The boulder was firmly wedged into its hole and was still sticking to the sides of the tunnel. There was no way they were getting past that. And it had already proved indestructible.

"We'll just have to keep walking." She said finally.

Scorpius opened one lazy eye. "And if we do are we miraculously going to find a way out of this literal hellhole?"

Rose considered this. "Probably not," She conceded.

"Then no." he said.

Rose sighed in frustration. She picked up a handful of pebbles from the wrecked ground and looked at them thoughtfully. Then she began pelting Scorpius with them, each pebble accompanied with the rhythmic chant of 'Get Up' or 'Wanker', the latter for variety's sake.

XXXXXXX

Adam splayed his hand against the surface of the boulder. So they'd found a way to stop it after all. Which meant they probably weren't dead!

His mind did a conga at the cheerful thought. If they all got out of here alive, they were _so _having a victory feast at having gotten into the pyramid and then at having got out which seemed considerably more difficult and important.

The Bitch at his side was drumming her wand thoughtfully against her palm.

Ignoring him completely, she cleared her throat delicately, eyelashes fluttering.

"SCORPIUS! ROSE!" She roared deafeningly.

Adam clutched his ears in agony as the very foundation of the pyramid seemed to rattle with the force of her bellowing.

"Merlin's balls, woman! Are you insane?"

She cast him a disparaging look that seemed to pierce his innards with a plastic fork.

"At least I'm doing something. Unlike you. You don't even think they're alive."

"I do so think they're alive," Adam countered. "And since I love Rosie so much already, I'm going to make sure they stay that way. Alive, I mean."

Natalie raised a cool eyebrow. "And I'd very much like to get Scorpius back as well. But how do you propose we do that?"

Adam snorted. "You never _had _him, to get him back."

The Bitch's lips tightened perceptibly. "We'll see. Now, ideas."

Adam sighed, thinking hard. "Alright…." He said slowly. "Here's what we can do..."

XXXXXXXXX

Nate clutched at the wall in shock, staring at the sight before him, the cursed necklace still dangling loosely from his fist.

"….Mills….?"

The creature in front of him turned its head and he saw with a sickening jolt that it _was _Millie. And that the prone figure next to her was Jenna. And that Jenna's arm had been sliced open.

And that there was a copious amount of blood around Millie's mouth. _In _Millie's mouth.

Rivulets of it dribbled down her chin as she smiled at him, each tooth defined by an outline of red.

"Nate."

The dizziness in his head almost overcame him as he turned around and emptied the contents of his stomach.

XXXXXX

They'd made it as far as the burial chamber at least.

But now there really was nowhere to go. It was a dead end. The end of the road. The last mile. The-

"Are you having a conniption?"

"No," she snapped.

"Okay well, if you're having one could you please have it in a room in which we are not surrounded by dead mummified bodies?"

"Shut up and grow up."

"Aren't we ambitious today?"

Rose growled in response and stomped over towards the walls, looking for an out.

"You know," Scorpius called lazily from his corner. "Walls are not women. It doesn't matter how much you poke and prod them, they're not going to open up for you."

Rose whirled around, fury rising.

"You little shit. Is it not your job to ensure I don't die?"

"That's the general gist of it, yes." He said genially.

"Then _why," _she seethed, "Are you not helping me find a way out?"

"Because," he shot back, "there isn't one. And also in this case we both die so your nutter of a dad can't murder me with his bare hands."

"You are so selfish!" Rose snapped at him, finding him a handy outlet for her frustration. Why was he so….frustrating!

"Now where the hell did that come from?" he said incredulously.

"You only care if it's your own arse on the line, don't you? There's no need to worry if the danger doesn't affect _you, _as long as your boss doesn't get mad at _you, _it's all fine and dandy who dies around you!"

"Are you even listening to yourself? You're mad, woman. Completely bonkers. I just said I was going to die, do you think-"

"But _no," _Rose steamrolled over his attempt at speaking, "Why should one care about anything or anyone If he's as brilliant and beautiful as Scorpius Malfoy? Why should he have to worry about the little people? Huh?"

There was a pause as they gazed at each other, Rose panting heavily, Scorpius as cool and inscrutable as ever.

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"ARGHH!"

XXXXXX

They sat side by side, idly gazing at the walls. After Rose had launched herself at him, they'd had a mock-wrestling match. It had ended rather awkwardly when Rose had found herself straddling his hips with their face mere inches apart.

There was a heated moment as their gazes locked and held, and their lips drifted closer. And then just as they'd brushed, both of them had jolted to their senses and sprung apart. Or well, Rose had jumped off Scorpius and he'd backed up against the wall, scurrying away as if he'd escaped death itself.

They'd gazed warily at each other for what seemed like hours. Then like two cagey predators they'd backed off and retreated to different corners of the gloomy room.

And then they'd just lapsed into a semi-comfortable silence.

Rose heard a faint sound and shook her head to clear it. Maybe that was the sound of her brain oozing out of her ears….

She heard it again. Nope. Not her brain then.

It grew a bit louder and as her mind registered and categorized it, she turned to the alert blond next to her, who was sitting up and listening every bit as intently as she was.

Rose swallowed with great difficulty.

"Scorpius," she said. "Can you hear someone screaming?

* * *

**A/N: Time to replyyy!**

**Amy- Don't worry, I'm not planning on killing anyone! (In Egypt, anyway.) I'll leave that for later...**

**Rachel- I hope there's enough sexual tension to satisfy you! And if there isn't...well, there will be. Soon. Muaahaa. ;) We're all hating on Natalie-heh. I'm glad you all like Adam! **

**Wendie R. J- Hahaha wow your sister sounds like an interesting person. (Except for if you're one of the girl's whose bf's she stole.) All i know is, Bianka is having way more fun than me right now...Yeah, Pal the Bad Ass is my real-life best friend and she'd pretty entertaining in the middle of class. (Well, okay, I'm the entertaining one- Pal is secretly a nerd-shh!). I know there's no deep emotions as such to the story but that's a good thing in some cases, I think. Sometimes you just want to read something which is entertaining but doesn't require too much thinking. It's also better for a site like this one where there are gaps between each chapter. So, thanks for your nice long review :)**

**ohmygolly- Yeah, about 23 chapters counting the epilogue. I'm not going to be writing a sequel because I have four months worth of exams coming up, starting December with the big ones in March. As per my country's educational system, these are the equivalent of NEWT's. How I perform in these exams is going to decide the rest of my life, practically. So, no, I'm not going to be able to continue it as much as I may want to! I'm sure I'll write again one day...but for now, I need to study! :(**

**Cass- See, I complied again and gave you an update on Friday! Aren't i awesome? ;) Haha, I would have been shocked if i'd miraculously received 45 reviews for one chapter. And I've always wanted a gay best friend...I guess that's whats up with me and my Adam-lovin'. **

**Anonymous- Uhh, your review came off as slightly rude, so i'd just like to reiterate that I have _not _finished writing this story. I have still got a fair bit left to write and am taking my own time about it so it doesn't come off as a rushed job. Also, I've updated regularly- at least once in three days and mostly on alternate days. I think by fanfic standards, that's pretty good. And don't worry, the chapters do become longer after 16. I didn't mean for it to look as if 'I'm dragging this out'- I edit the chapters based on the reviews for the previous chapter so yeah, I think I do need some time in between as i'm quite busy in real life. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I appreciate you expressing your honest opinion. Keep reading :)**

**Chapter 16 will be up...soon! Maybe tomorrow, if I have time but otherwise on Sunday. See y'all next chapter! :) **


	16. Escape

**A/N: Aaaand here's chapter 16! **

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: euphoenix, lunapeacock, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, raspberrysorbet, Missdagane, Reader, Sundance 1989, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, Cass, Rachel, tikinclocks, lilbuddie715 and silvermist76.**

**Cass- The scream was Jenna's actually! The same scream that Nate heard. And no, I'm not planning any story after this because I have to study for my end-of-school exams. (Which are really really super duper important! Like NEWT's, honestly.) They're in March but I have two sets of papers before that. But all the same, I'd love to hear your idea! I may even do it, you never know.**

**Thanks to all those who favourited/alerted: Vince from Shamwow, May May 15, colucss, ollie-wodge, lilbuddie715, Enna Thronlll and V.P.B. New readers, please do leave a review! It's a little disheartening when a lot of people alert but don't tell you what they actually think of the fic. **

* * *

Chapter 16:

"So we just need to gouge out the sides and slip around it."

Natalie clutched her head in horror. "Are you _insane?_ Gouge out the- Are you _insane?"_

Adam frowned at her. "No, I think it's perfectly plausible. How else are we going to get them out?"

Natalie breathed in deeply, concentrating on filling her lungs. She exhaled her anger. "We are _not _going to defile the inner walls of the biggest archaeological discovery of the past five decades."

"Well, lover boy defiled the floor pretty well." Adam pointed at the slashes in the ground where Scorpius had _deprimo-_ed it.

"That's different," she snapped. "That was in the interest of self-preservation."

"And this isn't?" Adam said pointedly. "You'd rather leave them in there with semi-rotting corpses and a thousand curses than make a few teensy meensy holes in the walls?"

Natalie looked thoughtful at this. "No," she said finally. "You're right. We can't leave them together in there! Lord knows what'll happen…

"Right, we're going to go around to the left tunnel," she said decisively. "It may connect to the right at some point, you never know. Blowing the walls around the rock up is a last resort. And we have to hurry before that redheaded little bitch gets her claws in my Scorpius."

She stalked off down the tunnel and Adam followed at a more sedate pace, somehow feeling that Natalie had missed the point entirely.

XXXXXXXX

"D'you hear that?"

"Yeah…can you tell where it's coming from?"

Rose whipped her head around, trying to locate the origin of the scream. She ran back the way they'd come in, faltering as she realized the scream seemed to grow more distant. Before she could make up her mind, it was silent again.

She turned to see Scorpius behind her. "It…wasn't coming from this side."

As one they turned to look at the burial chamber behind them. It seemed to have acquired a considerably more sinister aura now that they could hear screams seemingly emanating from it. Rose shivered involuntarily. "Do you think it's a curse?" she whispered.

"How would I know? You're the expert."

"Right," Rose said faintly. "I'm the expert."

She walked hesitantly back into the chamber, looking around cautiously. There were several gold sarcophagi lined up with baskets of rotted fruits and piles of jewelry at their feet. At the far end was a resplendent box lying horizontally on the ground with some nasty curses emblazoned across the front. That most likely contained the body of the pharaoh Djedefre who'd built this pyramid in anticipation of his own death.

A random thought flitted into her mind, something Uncle Harry had told her a long time ago. _To a well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. _

Rose decided to leave the pharaoh alone. There was no way she tackling that on her own, Merlin only knew how many dark curses there were on it.

Standing in the centre of the room, she pivoted slowly, organizing her thoughts. She- _they'd _heard a scream. It wasn't coming from further back in the tunnel which meant it probably wasn't Natalie. And it definitely wasn't Adam, unless he'd mastered the art of screaming like a girl. So unless it was another trap, it was the other group. And the other group had gone left…But what if both paths led to the burial chamber? That would mean there was a way out! They could simply use the second door and go back via the left path.

She turned around excitedly. "Scorp, there's a way out, there _has _to be!"

He looked around warily. "…okay. Well can you find it then?"

"I-"

She was cut off by another shriek, this one louder and drawn-out as if it was a scream of pain not fear.

Her insides seemed to liquefy with the horrid sensation.

"Right," Scorpius said firmly. "Okay, we're getting out of here. Use your brain, Weasley. Where would they conceal a second entrance?"

"How would I know?" Rose snapped. "This is my first real pyramid! Okay, wait, wait. Let me think… Nothing on the walls; floor- unlikely, we're already underground; ceiling's too high; not looking in the creepy pharaoh's tomb…" she snapped her fingers quickly. "Got it. It may even work."

Scorpius followed her bemusedly as she stalked towards the nearest Sarcophagus. "What are you doing?" he asked, picking his way through the piles of artifacts in the way.

"Should be this one…maybe not…okay, not…"

"Rose?"

"Shut up Scorpius! Trying to work here!"

She pointed her wand at a golden coffin and the door sprang open. Rose frowned in disappointment, seeing it occupied. The body inside was wrapped in stained bandages and quite decayed. She shut the lid as Scorpius gagged behind her.

"That is disgusting. What is that _stench?"_

Rose smirked at him, trying not to look too smug. "Aww is it too disgusting for ickle Malfoy? Didn't know you were squeamish."

He glared at her. "I'm not. Excuse me if I'm not particularly fond of 3000 year old dead bodies. Now why are you pillaging the poor chap's grave? Isn't that against your principles or something?"  
Rose ignored him and proceeded to the next sarcophagus. "Okay this should be it. Stand back."

Scorpius hastily stood back.

The lid burst outwards with a bang, springing open. Rose smiled in relief at what she saw.

Scorpius walked forward hesitantly. "Why is there a great big gaping hole in the back of this one? Did this one get mummy-napped?"

Rose turned to him, eyes gleaming. "It's a dummy sarcophagus."

"Er….what?"

She sighed exasperatedly. "That means it's a door, you idiot. It's the way out."

XXXXXXXXX

"What have you done?" he said quietly.

She laughed softly. "What I was sent to do. The blood is my reward. Waste not." She sang the last part, a mocking child's tune.

Nate's knees refused to hold him up any longer. With a gasp of pain, he collapsed against the wall, sliding down, eyes fixed on the red liquid spreading in front of him.

That was what fresh blood looked like, a detached part of his mind noted. He'd never actually seen so much of it before.

It was disturbingly beautiful.

The dizziness rocked him again, black spots swimming in his vision. Millie's face seemed to warp as he looked at it, her features blurring and mixing. He blinked away the haze in his mind and focused on her face.

He wished he hadn't.

She looked like Millie…only not. Eyes burning with hate and contempt, mouth twisted into a feral grimace of enjoyment, blood everywhere, clots of it in her hair, running down her neck and soaking into her clothes. She looked…evil. Possessed. Insane.

She crawled towards him, his back pressing sharply into the rock wall as she came nearer. Her words registered in his mind, his brain only now receiving the message.

"What do you mean 'sent'?"

Millie licked her lips, her tongue coming away unnaturally red. Her eyes widened dramatically as she answered. "Sent….by _her."_

Nate inched to his left, spying a heavy looking relic from his peripheral vision.

"Her who?"

Millie giggled childishly. "My Goddess, of course."

Nate was so baffled by this, he paused in his leftward shift and turned to look at her. "Your _what?"_

Millie leaned closer, so close that he had to crane his neck as far as it would go to escape the rancid stench of blood from her mouth. Her eyes held a manic gleam as she gripped his hand, fingernails digging in harshly.

"_Sekhmet_," she whispered reverently.

"Umm, okay."

His fingers brushed the gold statue, scrabbling for purchase.

Nate watched horrified as Millie raised his bitten hand, examining it with a curious glee. She leant down and locked her lips around the wound, biting down. He let out a strangled yell, and fingers closing around the statue, he swung it around with all his force.

It impacted loudly against her head and Millie crumpled instantly, landing on top of him. Nate pushed her off disgustedly, rising on shaky legs.

He held up the golden statuette to eye level, forcing his blurry vision to focus on it.

It was an idol. Sekhmet, Eye of Ra. Of course.

He laughed harshly and chucked it as far as he could. It hit the adjacent wall, the head snapping off with sheer force.

Nate stepped over the body at his feet and took three stumbling steps forward, falling to his knees at Jenna's side.

For a second, he could have sworn he'd heard footsteps. Two seconds later, he was out cold and beyond caring.

XXXXXXXXX

"Shit, did you hear them screaming?"

"Yes, Dyer, I heard. Now if you'd move your poncy ass just a bit quicker-"

"In case you haven't noticed, Natalie, I'm _ahead _of you."

"Well, you know what they say; Ladies first."

"Are you being homophobic?"

"No, you prick. I'm being courteous."

"Well you can be courteous when _you're_ the one leading. Until then, zip it, you bimbo."

"ARGH, just keep moving!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose walked ahead of Scorpius as they ducked through the low tunnel, moving fast.

It was just a few inches taller than she was and Scorpius had to bend and walk.

"We should almost be there," she whispered back at him.

"How can you tell?"

"The series of hieroglyphs at the beginning of the tunnel are appearing again. This must be the other end of it."

The tunnel was shaped like a U and they'd crossed the bend about two minutes back though it felt longer in the cramped, dark space. As she took another step forward, Scorpius' hand closed around her shirt, gripping it from the back. "Wait."

"What?" she hissed, annoyed.

"Let me go first."

Rose craned her neck to look at him incredulously. "How on earth am I supposed to do that?"

"Just let me get ahead of you, Weasley."

"No! There's no space! Let me do my job, Malfoy!"

"And you let me do mine!" he shot back.

They glared at each other until Rose finally gave in.

"Fine," she said, throat dry. The tunnel was so narrow she had to press herself flat against the rock and signal for him to do the same against the opposite wall.

He complied and with gritted teeth, Rose tried to squeeze past him. She was acutely aware of their bodies pressing up incredibly close, hips and chests aligned. It was as if they were being pushed together by the walls. But five seconds and a rustle later, she was safely on the other side, smoothing down her clothes and hoping her red cheeks would be back to normal by the time they got out of the dark.

"Sorry," she muttered, not sure what she was apologizing for. The fact that she'd enjoyed the experience in a weird twisted way?

"What for? It was most enjoyable."

She thwacked him on the arm and with a muffled chuckle he took the lead, walking ahead.

XXXXXXX

Nate had drifted back into consciousness by the time the cavalry arrived. The two separate groups arrived a mere five seconds apart, one bursting in from behind a portrait and the other hurrying along through the normal entrance.

Both groups and all four members simultaneously yelled loud variations of the word 'Shit'.

He was vaguely aware of being lifted gently to his feet, and then the queer sensation of drifting in mid-air. Through his slightly parted lids he saw Jenna and Millie receiving the same treatment, though there were a few exclamations of disgust when they saw the latter.

"..get them out of here…"

"…blood in her mouth...fucking hell, that's messed…"

"What's this?"

Someone yanked at Nate's fist and it fell open, the forgotten necklace slithering from his grasp.

"Watch out," someone, a girl, said. "I think that's cursed. Let's just get out of here before someone really dies…I-"

Nate's mind shut down and everything went mercifully black.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it for the pyramid. Next chapter is SPECIAL. Okay? Okay. Because it's loooong, and hopefully more interesting than this one. All the chapters after this one will be much longer than any of the others. **

**I've reached that horrible period all writers eventually get into(I think)- when you start doubting your story/plot majorly and basically get into a depressed funk over it. But don't worry, no matter what, I WILL finish this story- it's not getting abandoned. Anyway, i'll see you all in chapter 17! **


	17. Edge of Desire

**A/N: Okay, peeps. This chapter is SPECIAL. Because a) Lots of RxS to satisfy(hopefully) those of you who've been getting impatient. and b) Pal the Bad Ass strikes again! There is a rather long and bludday brilliant work of art at the bottom of this chapter for those of you who could do with some humour. ;) c) It's LONG!**

**Now, to my super-awesome-totally-bluhfaa(=bloody fucking awesome-credits to Hamster) reviewers, xiexie for your brilliant support last chapter! I felt really down and you guys have cheered me up immensely! I took great care to reply to each and every single review so sorry to anyone i've left out!- euphoenix, Lizzy0308, frostykitten, lilbuddie715, amy, Missdagane, Roseweasley85, climbingmonkey13, tikinclocks, Mrs. Theodore Nott, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Rachel, Sundance1989, Lovewithoutexpectation, Nick55, arrrghimapiratenow, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, ainat92, x-rayLady, ohmygolly and PalTheBadAss. :* **

**And to new readers and those who've liked my story enough to favourite it: ClimbingMonkey13, Ginevra1988, Em131313, ndaniels13, cmg2008, mykk47, kyotosan, a-riggs2011, wolfiegirl81, Lillian Joel and I Can Hear The Sea.**

**I worked really hard on this chapter so make sure to let me know what you think! (It had to be re-written thrice. THRICE. Merlin's balls.)**

**PS- Chapter title is the song I was listening to while writing this. Edge of Desire by John Mayer and Out of Reach by Matthew Perryman Jones. (Such a sad, sad song! Sob!) **

* * *

**Chapter 17: **

He pulled her head back till it was parallel to the ceiling. Tears slipped down the girl's face as she stared vacantly up at the pinnacle of the tent. Her head no longer felt pleasantly light. Instead, it pounded fiercely, letting her know of its disgust.

Her hands twitched again, aching to claw at her flesh but the spinning faces around her had tied them down. She took some satisfaction in the lines of red her nails had left on her skin before they'd managed to stop her. The cuts stung but she welcomed the pain. She deserved it.

One of the figures stopped in front of her but she was still being forced to look up. A cool hand grasped her chin lightly.

"Pass me the serum."

The voice was achingly familiar and she recognized it in a distant part of her mind. But for the present all that mattered was the ceiling of white cloth above her, draping downwards elegantly.

There were small sounds as people moved around, lifting objects, passing them around. She wondered if they would be passed to her. Sure enough, a moment later the hand was tilting her head slightly, placing a cold object to her lips.

She put up no resistance as the insipid liquid trailed down her throat, burning fiercely as it went. It felt like firewhisky but it tasted like dirt. The man behind her pushed her head forward, the momentum causing it to lurch forward till she could now see only the floor. She imagined trying to raise her head for a second, then gave up. It wasn't worth the effort. She was in no danger, sadly. She knew who was around her.

There was a metallic scraping sound as a pair of chair legs entered her narrowed field of vision. A pair of boots walked around it and sat down, legs crossed.

The woman in front of her cleared her throat, but she didn't look up. The pounding in her head had dulled to a gentle throbbing which couldn't compare with her racing heart.

"I'm going to ask you some questions and you will answer. Lie if you will, you've been given Veritaserum. I'm sure you know what that is. We will know the truth. Understood?"

"Yes." The word flew from her mouth, surprising her.

"Good. Now, are you Millicent Thorne, daughter of Edmund Thorne?"

Millie looked up, into Natalie's eyes. She recoiled slightly as if she had not been expecting Millie to make eye contact. "Yes."

Natalie's eyebrows contracted at her answer.

"Did you try to kill Nathaniel James Connor and Jenna Carroll as of the 16th of September?"

Millie nodded, hands shaking under their restraints.

"Yes." She whispered.

XXXXXXX

Rose slid the phone into her shorts pocket almost as an afterthought. It was unlikely anyone would be calling her on it, but she may as well carry it, she'd definitely paid a neat amount for it. She tugged her tank top up a final time, glancing around the room to see she had everything. She didn't want to apparate needlessly between the motel and the site.

Locking the door behind her, she descended the stairs heading for the alley running parallel to the rundown establishment. A twinge of worry pricked her as her thoughts turned to Scorpius. He hadn't come back to the motel after they'd finally gotten out of the pyramid. Or had he? She shook her head, confused. Last night was a blur. She barely remembered getting back much less who had been with her as she'd done so. Lord only knew how she'd apparated without splinching herself.

Regardless, he hadn't been there by the time she'd woken up. Rose clucked her tongue irritably as she caught her thoughts. She didn't need to worry about Malfoy. He was a grown up and could handle himself… probably.

Stepping into the dark alley, she twisted on the spot, focusing on her destination.

XXXXXXXX

"Ahoy Rosie! Good to see you here, nice and early."

"Hi Adam," Rose grinned at the good-looking man standing near a wooden beam arching randomly into the sky. "What's that then?" She asked, pointing to it.

"_That_,"Adam said, clapping the piteous beam till it wobbled precariously, "is absolutely nothing. For now, anyway."

Rose raised her eyebrows, joining him where he stood. "So what's it going to be then?"

"Aah, the penultimate question. It says it wants to be a tent when it grows up. Can you imagine?"

"...Not really. What are you on about?"

"We," Adam's eyes glinted manically as he looked at her, "are having ourselves a party."

There was a beat of silence as Adam waited for Rose to explode into a fit of whooping and cheering and Rose expected Adam to say 'Just kidding, let's grab some toast.'

The moment of silence passed without either of these events occurring.

Finally, Rose ventured to break it. "_Why_ are we having a party?"

"Because, my little moppet, we are celebrating the fact that we have cracked the mystery of the pyramid of Djedefre, The Invisible Pyramid, the Heap of Rubble, the-you get my point I'm sure."

Rose's eye twitched as Adam flung an arm over her shoulders. "Isn't that a bit insensitive?" she protested. "To Nate, Jenna and Millie I mean? Aren't they in the medical tent right now?"

Adam shrugged, the movement jostling Rose. "Not really. I went to see Nate and he said he was fine and would I please put on a shirt the next time I came to visit him."

She snorted, swatting his arm away. "And the other two?"

"I'm sure they're fine. Jenna was asleep and I don't know where Millie was, I guess she was well enough to go back to her own tent. But Rosie," Adam turned to her seriously. "We were lucky last night. I don't for a moment believe that Mills was acting of her own volition, it must have been some sort of evil voodoo or something." He wiggled his fingers to illustrate the word 'voodoo'. "And people have died before on this expedition, you know. Like that bloke, Daniel Summers. Man, that was nasty."

Rose stopped walking, standing in the shadow of the pyramid. "What do you mean?" she asked carefully. "Who's Daniel Summers and what..?"

"-Happened?" Adam finished her sentence. "It was the second week, right? So we'd just gotten into the ante-chamber, hadn't defused the curses. So this bloke, Summers, he just walks in, cool as you please, and starts fiddling with one of those weird statues lining the walls. Anyway, he tried to lift one of them up, I think he thought it was magical….It was."

Rose looked at him expectantly, willing him to continue.

Adam leaned in closer, clearly enjoying the retelling of his gruesome tale. "It started controlling him. Made him run repeatedly into the wall, trying to tear his limbs apart. By the time we got to him, he was trying to claw his eyes out."

Rose's eyes were appropriately wide, pleasing the story teller. "Did he?" She breathed out.

"Did he what?"

"Claw his eyes out?"

"He d-"

"Well, isn't this cozy?"

Rose jumped a little at the intrusion, spinning around to see Scorpius surveying them, expression of superiority pinned firmly in place.

She realized how close she and Adam were standing and backed up quickly. And she'd really wanted to know what had happened to Daniel…

"What are you doing here?" She snapped.

Scorpius arched an eyebrow at her hostile tone. "Helping set up for the party, of course. What are you doing here?"

"Working." Rose answered quickly.

His eyes flickered between the two of them. "Clearly. Well, I suppose in that case, I'm working as well."

"You needn't bother." She said acidly. "I can manage for a day. I'm sure there are plenty of things you'd rather be doing."

His gaze lingered on her for a few moments, making her feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She tugged at her shorts nervously and his eyes followed the movement, flicking back up to her face.

"Yes," he said. "There are plenty of…things I'd rather be doing."

He smirked wickedly at her and turned away, levitating a stack of white cloth as he went, leaving a frustrated Rose in his wake to wonder what exactly he'd been trying to say.

XXXXXX

She had to admit, it was pretty. Light swathes of white cloth suspended from a central point arched gracefully downwards. Wood poles with glittering fairy lights entwined around them held up the structure. The rustic setting had been enhanced by wooden tables dotted around the enclosure, the floor laid over with bricks. Globes of light bobbed around the guests, wending their way around people and beams alike.

For a last minute effort, it was spectacular. But what really made it beautiful was the wide expanse of stars glittering in the sky and the blacks formations that were pyramids. Looking up, Rose was overcome by a feeling of vertigo, as if she were looking out over a cliff and being able to see each minute detail on the ground far below. Even in Hogwarts it had been impossible to see the sky like this. There had always been too much light drowning them out.

She wandered idly around the knots of people, not seeing anyone she knew. It was a relief to see that she was in no way overdressed. She'd been hesitant before, when donning the golden dress. What if everyone turned up in jeans and t-shirts? But knowing wizards, that was impossible no matter where in the world they were. And indeed, everyone had turned up in their very best outfits, some bordering on the ludicrous. Rose eyed a pink flamingo standing out above the crowd, firmly fixed to a rotund witch's hat and smoothed down her clothes gratefully. She'd opted for a dress she'd found in her trunk, undoubtedly bought by Dom. Pale gold and more fitted than anything she usually wore, it accentuated her collarbones with its thin straps, just barely skimming her knee.

Looking in the mirror, she'd been amused to find herself wearing the exact colours of Gryffindor with her red hair and golden dress.

An image of Scorpius and what he might possibly have to say about that had flashed across her mind before she'd pushed it away irritably. This wasn't about him. She'd dressed up because she wanted to. Nothing to do with him.

Pulling herself back to the present, she dropped tiredly into a chair, feet already aching thanks to her heels. Where were Adam and Scorpius? Or Natalie for that matter?

"Rose?"

A quiet voice to her left made her spin around, neck burning with whiplash.

"Ow." She massaged it absent mindedly, eyes focusing on the figure almost completely hidden by shadows. "Uh, hi."

The frail figure leaned forward and Rose realized with a jolt that it was Millie Thorne. Her wide brown eyes were swollen and red, and she was dressed simply in jeans and a full sleeve t-shirt, arms wrapped tightly around herself like a shield.

The girl smiled wanly at her and Rose smiled back hesitantly. She still didn't know what had happened down in the pyramid and her instincts screamed at her to be careful.

"Have-" Millie broke off, voice faltering. "Do you know where Jenna is? And Nate?"

Rose shook her head slowly. "No, I haven't seen them today." She answered truthfully. "Wouldn't they be in the medical tent?" She cringed inwardly at how her question sounded- accusatory.

"No….they were discharged earlier today. I went to see them, but…" She shook her head looking off into the crowd. "It's a very nice party."

Rose's insides squirmed with guilt she couldn't place. There was something so…vulnerable about Millie. Yesterday she'd been energetic, full of life. Now she looked completely drained as if she'd aged decades overnight. And how superficial must this gathering seem to her? -All these people celebrating while she seemed to be stuck in some sort of personal hell, by the look of her.

"Yes," she found herself agreeing absently, having forgotten what Millie had last said.

A flicker of amusement seemed to cross her face momentarily as she looked at Rose, gaze shrewd. "Are you wondering whether I'm going to try and rip your throat out?"

Rose flinched at the crude wording. "N-no. Of course not. Why would-"

Millie shrugged. "It's all over your face. You blame me for what happened last night." Rose's cheeks burned in shame at having been caught out. "But I just want you to know…it wasn't me."

She looked up, eyes beseeching Rose to listen. "It was that statue…I thought it was so beautiful when I saw it. None of the others did…I don't know…and then suddenly I was so happy and my mind was so free! I just wanted to do what she was telling me to….I guess it's a bit like being under the Imperius curse."

A chill ran down Rose's spine as she envisioned a curse powerful enough to override another person's will entirely, even centuries after it had been cast.

Millie leaned forward, loose strands of hair escaping her ponytail. "They asked me about it of course. Didn't believe me until they used the Veritaserum. Even then, that bitch-"she cut herself off abruptly, swallowing her words. "Even then they barely believed me. But you believe me, don't you Rose? You believe me right?"

The expression of desperate hope on her face was heart wrenching, as if Rose believing her was all she needed for everything to be alright. The burden of responsibility and obligation was settling heavily on Rose's shoulders as she stared at the girl opposite her.

Her fingers clenched tightly over the edge of the table as she answered. "I do."  
Pure relief spread over Millie's face, lips curving upward in a watery smile. "Thank God," she choked out. "If you believe me, then the others will as well, right? Maybe…maybe they won't send me home. I can't go home, Rose. This is my life."

Rose felt a twinge of unease at this conversation. She was essentially an outsider in this party. She didn't know Millie and didn't know what she could possibly say to make the older girl feel better. She didn't want to misstep but she didn't want to say nothing either.

She was saved from having to answer by a tap at her shoulder.

"Would you like to dance?" A heavily accented voice inquired.

Rose turned her gaze upward to face the tall man blocking her view. His skin seemed almost golden in the muted glow of the lights, jet black hair flopping into his brown eyes.

"Oh, I'm here with someone, I-" Her eyes skittered to her left, doing a double take as she noticed Millie was gone. She probed the crowd with her eyes urgently, relaxing as she saw Millie making her way towards a lone figure with tousled brown hair- Nate.

So she was alone then.

She bit her lip, looking at the still extended hand of the Egyptian boy in front of her.

He grinned at her endearingly, eyes twinkling. "Go on, take my hand."

She did.

XXXXX

Scorpius stopped in his tracks as he saw Rose being whisked away for a dance. He frowned, annoyed, and redirected his footsteps.

This party sucked. Sure, it was all very well put together- and why wouldn't it be, when he'd helped?- but it really wasn't where he'd choose to spend a Saturday night. Unless of course Rose was around- which she was, but not really as they had yet to exchange a single word. Now if only that Egyptian bastard hadn't gotten to her first…

He stuck his hands into the pockets of his blazer, leaning idly against a pole. His eyes traced Rose as she spun around the floor, laughing wildly. He noted with amusement that she'd already switched partners and with derision that there seemed to be a line of guys now queuing for their chance.

And why wouldn't there be, when her skirt was whipping up like that? That ridiculously Gryffindor dress she had on…

He was barely aware that he'd started walking forward again until his shoulders collided with a few of the more exuberant dancers. They let out several exclamations of protest, moving out of his way. He was just steps away from her when a hand descended firmly on his shoulder, spinning him around.

"There you are!" Natalie crowed triumphantly. "I've been looking for you all over! Care to dance?"

She grabbed his hand, invading his personal space.

Scorpius looked over her head, searching for Rose, but she'd moved away. Natalie started writhing to the beat, hands on his chest as he fought the overwhelming urge to push her away.

Where the fuck was Rose?

XXXXXXXXX

Rose swiped away the strands of hair escaping her up-do. The latest in the long line of men kissed her hand and winked at her before moving away, relinquishing the next dance to someone else.

Firm hands caught her, directing her expertly as the song changed to a slow one.

"Adam!" She said, surprised. "Where have you been all this time?"

Adam smirked at her lazily. "Making new friends. I propose you do the same. Did you like any of the blokes you've danced with so far?"

Rose rolled her eye at him. "Not really. I mean, they were all good-looking and only about half of them stepped on my feet but they're not really my type."

"No, your type is more fair, blond and built isn't it?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, shaking her head as if to say _Very funny. _"I know what you're getting at. And I don't appreciate it."

Adam grinned, eyes roving the crowd. "Not saying anything. Although, I must say, I have dibs on that guy over there, so don't even think about him."

He motioned to a tall man standing off to the side, observing the proceedings. Rose's eyebrows shot up. "Nice," she commented. "Not a bad figure. Pretty chiseled good looks as well-eek!"

She laughed uproariously as Adam pulled her back in from the sudden spin, her head whirling. "Just kidding," she grinned at the look of consternation on his face. "Well not about his looks- I mean he _is _pretty fit."

"Well," Adam said lightly. "So is your bloke. I've seen him reject about twenty proposals in the last ten minutes. He seems to be getting on with The Bitch though."

He nodded to the right and Rose looked around, catching sight of Scorpius slow dancing with Natalie. Instant irritation flooded her at the sight and this time she didn't try to fight it. "What's going on with the two of them?" She asked, knowing she sounded churlish.

Adam shrugged, spinning her slowly. "Can't say. Well, I know what's going on with gnat, that's an easy one. But I can't tell about Scorpius. I was pretty sure he was into you, but…"

Her eyes met Scorpius' across the floor. They stared at each other, a connection seeming to hover between them even as they danced with their respective partners.

"You know," Adam said thoughtfully, breaking her focus. "You can use my tent tonight, if you need to. I don't think I'll be needing it."

Rose turned back to him, eyebrows raised. "What makes you say that?"

He grinned wickedly. "Intuition. So what say you?"

Rose smiled wryly. "Well, I have a room at the motel but I'll keep it in mind."

"Good, well I'll be off. I think my date is getting restless…" He pecked her on the cheek and moved away, getting lost among the crowd instantly.

Rose looked around, slightly lost. She was jostled from one side as a couple bumped into her and deciding to get out of the way, she began navigating her way through the maze of elbows and feet.

A hand on the small of her back stopped her, her pulse quickening as she straightened, standing still. The hand trailed across her back, stopping at her waist as Scorpius walked around her, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Is it my turn yet?" He asked, smirking.

XXXXX

Her head came to rest involuntarily against his shoulder, as his hands tightened around her waist. They swayed on the dance floor, the song slow and slightly depressing.

Rose noted that he hadn't stepped on her feet even once. She stiffened slightly as he rested his chin lightly on her head, wondering how intimate they must look dancing this way, wrapped around each other.

Her hands slid across his shoulders as she shifted slightly. She could feel his heart beating under her hand as it came to rest on his chest. She couldn't stop the small smile unfurling on her face as she realized it was racing as fast as hers.

The moment was peaceful, but her emotions whirled inside her like a tornado, beating at the edge of her thoughts, permeating them, poisoning them. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Scorpius- she always had been. For as long as she could remember. That was something that hadn't changed over the years. But was that really it?

Her heart didn't know which direction to go in as she realized that the extent of her feelings went beyond pure attraction. Old feelings resurfaced as she confronted her emotions. Her grip on his jacket tightened, her nails digging into her palm.

Lust, Betrayal, Love.

Tears sprang to her eyes as he kissed her forehead softly. She couldn't fall for him again. Having her heart broken once was enough. She couldn't go through it twice. But even as she thought it, she could feel her control slipping. She thought again of what Dom had said to her- what if she had been wrong in blaming him all those years ago? She'd been too scared to even consider the possibility before. It had crossed her mind multiple times, but she'd always been too scared of being wrong.

Her eyes dried as she let her mind wander, breathing in his scent. She knew what she was doing- even now she was pushing away the possibility of being wrong. But she let herself do it. It was another life, an old mistake. It didn't affect today.

"Rose?"

She looked up, giving him a lopsided smile.

His lips quirked up slightly at the goofy expression on her face.

He leaned in closer, smoothing her hair away from her face.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked softly.

"Since when have you asked?"

He smiled, their foreheads resting against each others. "Since now."

"W-_ell," _Rose played with the word, drawing it out as if she needed to think about it. "I suppose you can."

"Good." He tilted her chin up, kissing her softly. Rose leaned in, winding her arms around his neck.

"Scorpius!"

They sprang apart guiltily, turning to look at an out of breath Natalie.

"What are you doing?" She snapped, looking between the two of them.

"Not you, that's for sure." He replied snidely. "Look Natalie, I don't like you that way, alright?"

"You do! I know you do! Don't bother with trash like her." She nodded in Rose's direction.

Scorpius stepped forward menacingly. His voice was tight when he spoke, fists clenched as if he was restraining himself from striking out. "Don't say a word about her-"

Rose's shoulders slumped as it sunk home what she'd just been doing. Unwilling to listen to the rest of the argument, she turned on her heel and left, shouldering her way through the throng, pushing aside everything in her path.

The cold air outside hit her like a wave, goosebumps rising instantly along her exposed arms.

She wrapped her arms around herself, fighting back tears of frustration. Her body fought against her mind, aching to be wrapped in Scorpius' embrace, not her own. Logic and a sense of self-preservation urged her to apparate away, return to England, stay with her family- anything but continue to stand here, alone and pathetic.

"Rose!"

She half-turned, heart wrenching painfully as her gaze landed on a flushed Scorpius, clutching one of the beams, looking as forlorn as she felt. His eyes were wide and he looked uncharacteristically flustered and…nervous?

For the first time, a wave of shame hit her as she realized that if this was difficult for her, it would be just as hard for him.

He stepped forward hesitantly, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Rose, I-"

She pushed aside her misgivings and launched herself at him, content to just hold him for now, face buried in his neck.

XXXXXXXX

His lips burned a hot trail down her throat, her hands fisting in his hair. He let out a guttural sound as she pressed closer, dragging his lips back to hers.

She couldn't remember how they'd gotten to the tent she remembered as Adam's and she really couldn't care less.

It was hard to remember anything right now, really.

The thin straps of her dress snapped under his fingers, the material slipping slightly. He pulled back slightly. "Crap, sorry about-"

He broke off, confused as she pushed him back till they were in a sitting position. She heard the sharp intake of breath as the dress pooled around her waist, exposing her. She ran her hands over his bare chest, exploring the ridges of his abdomen, the sharp hipbones above the waistband of his jeans, the firm skin on his back.

His arms went around her again, pulling her close till they were flush against each other, chests and hips aligned like puzzle pieces.

He shivered as her legs went around his waist, pinning him firmly. Her eyelashes fluttered against his cheek as he dropped kisses on her shoulder, sucking on a sensitive spot behind her ear, making her shudder.

Why had she denied herself this again?

Slowly, he pushed her back again till she was flat on her back, looking up at him. Her fingers fiddled with the button on his jeans almost absentmindedly as he traced lazy circles on her skin, brushing the edge of the fabric still around her waist.

She smirked up at him challengingly. "What are you waiting for?"

He smiled, taking her in with his eyes. "You."

She laughed mischievously. "Oh I'll come don't worry. You, on the other hand…"

He shook his head, halo of golden hair whipping his face lightly as he marveled at her ability to crack innuendos even now.

With a fluid motion, he slid the last of her clothing from her body, casting it away without tearing his darkened grey eyes from hers. Rose shuddered as she realized how exposed she really was- more than she'd ever been with him.

She fought the urge to fold her arms protectively as he lowered his lips to her ear. "You're beautiful." He murmured lightly.

She wasn't sure what she said in response as her thoughts were lost in the rushing sound filling her ears.

"Are you sure?"

Her eyes snapped open, looking at him disbelievingly. "You're asking me _now_?"

"Better late than never."

"Right." She said, taking in their position and smiling up at him. "Better late than never."

And to answer his question, she pulled him down till their lips and tongues met again in a fiery dance.

* * *

**A SPECIAL MESSAGE DELIVERED FROM THE BAD-ASS-EST OF THEM ALL: PAL THE BAD ASS, YO! -Audience applauds- **

**Sup, yo. Imma back. I know its been a while (5 chapters) but its ALL annevaders fault. She loves to upload. No, seriously. Everytime I call her up and ask her what she is doing she answers ,"Oh Im uploading chapter Blah blah blah". I had to discuss a very important issue ( "Can you come over to help me decide which colour underwear I should wear with my red dress?") She replied, " No, bro Ive got to upload chapter 15."**  
**So, I was obviously mad at her. SHE FORGOT TO ASK ME TO WRITE TO YOU ALL. And Ive really really missed you all. I read the reviews and im like, Damn, yo, these peeps love me. And yes, Tikinclocks, Pal the bad ass is FTW. So i thank all you sexy people out there. Keep bringing in the love. In exchange, Pal the badass always got ya back, dawg.**  
**Yeah, I said it.**

**Of late, me and Annevader have been arguing a lot. Some of our arguments are like this one:**

**Me: "You're just jealous that your readers like me MORE!"**  
**AnneV: "No, they don't you pseudo bad ass!"**  
**Me:" TAKE THAT BACK!"**  
**AnneV:"What my computer? GLADLY!"**  
**Me: " YOUR STORY SUCKS!" (I didnt mean that.)**  
**AnneV: " YOU SUCK!"**  
**Me: "YOUR FACE SUCKS!"**  
**AnneV: "YOU SUCK!"**  
**Aah Annevader. Ever so eloquent.**  
**And we go on for ours, stopping at regular intervals for food and other supplies. Except this one day where our argument took a somewhat personal route:**  
**"YOU ARENT EVEN A REAL BAD ASS!"**  
**"YOU ARENT EVEN A REAL...VADER.."**

**Yeah, man. I got class.**  
**Basically, we got a bit physical ( She punched me on the arm. I chucked a lamp at her. we're cool shiznits ma.) and our friend Palak who refuses to adopt a penname ( We recommended The Egg, Eggster, Egghead and Omlette but she refused them all. She is SO picky.) had to intervene.**  
**Good times.**

**you see, me and Annevader have a connection of sorts. Take this conversation for example:**

**AnneV: Are ye going to school tommorow?**  
**Me: Hmm...**  
**AnneV: Hmmm?**  
**Me: Hmm.**  
**AnneV: You booger.**

**Anyways,**  
**THEY DID IT! (Scorose, I mean). They did the deed! I know its kind of perverted for me to be excited, but well. Heeheheeee. They rolled in the hay, yo. The egg has been planted yo( HEHE PALAK HEHE). However, it is a bit hard for me to look annevader in the eye now. God knows who she is imagining naked when we discuss the weather. *shudders***  
**Moving on,**  
**THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE LURRVE YOU THREW MA WAY. Yeah, bro. I caught it all.**


	18. I Won't

**Well, hello again! Another long chapter :) **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed! You guys are brilliant-if it weren't for you all, I wouldn't even have gotten this far with the story!**

**xiLynnx, whee, euphoenix, amy, Love without expectation, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, tikincloks, Missdagane, Palak, Rosweasley85, scentasia, Senga1, lilbuddie715, Cass, ClimbingMonkey13, Sundance1989, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, ainat92, ohmygolly, nick55 and a-riggs2011.**

**Answering a few questions:**

**Cass- Nope, this story is now 23 chapters including an epilogue! Random number, yes, but oh well. :) **

**Palak- Shut up, Egg. You ain't gonna find hotter property than *this*. Just ask our hormonal teenage ****acquaintances, yo. Oh, and ain't no one hotter than Pal TBA either, of course. We cool. PS- YES they did! Hoorah! And I didn't even have to read one of your JQ's for research purposes. ;)**

**amy- You're welcome :) **

**Whee- I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much! And I'll try my best not to break your heart! (I'm fairly sure you'll be fine though. We're almost at the end!) **

**And now, preeesenting! (Song choice is so OOC for me. Still, if the knickers fit...)**

* * *

_I don't wanna start over_

_I don't wanna pretend that_

_You are not my lover_

_That you're only my friend_

I won't- Colbie Caillat

**Chapter 18:**

Sunlight filtered through the thin canvas, golden light dancing over each surface, interspersed by patches of dark shadows. Rose's eyes fluttered open, a feeling of contentment settling over her as the sun's rays warmed her.

Stirring slightly, she became aware of a heavy weight around her waist and looking downwards, her momentary bubble of bliss was burst viciously. A pale arm thrown over her and a warm wall of natural heat behind her brought memories of just a few hours ago flooding into her mind.

Her breath caught in her throat as she burrowed her face into the pillow, reeling in shock at what she'd- they'd done. Chancing a peek behind her, she had to bite her tongue to stifle any sound as her eyes landed on Scorpius' face, carefree and golden in the light.

In fact, everything about him was golden as he lay there breathing deeply. Her flaming red hair offered a stunning contrast as it fell over her face. The scene was idyllic, the moment perfect. And all Rose Weasley wanted was a time turner and a heavy device to knock out her past-self.

Shifting his arm carefully, she wriggled out of his grasp, bare feet touching the floor. He remained mercifully still, chest still rising and falling with even breaths. The cool air bit at her bare skin and her body longed for the warmth of the nest of sheets and limbs she'd just left.

Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she clamped her hands over her face, trying not to panic. What the fuck was wrong with twelve-hours-ago-Rose? She slipped back into her undergarments, clutching the ruined dress to her chest. She vaguely remembered having transfigured her phone into a hairclip, but looking around there was no sign of it.

Still trying not to make any sound, she gave it up and picking up a discarded sheet from the floor, set about turning it into a makeshift dress. Shoes and party dress dangling from her fingers, she tiptoed to the entrance, pulling back the flap.

And froze as a merry jingle emanated from somewhere within the tent.

'…_Oh, come and stir my cauldron and if you do it right…'_

Rose paused, one foot raised, as Scorpius shot up, sheets slipping dangerously low.

"What-?"

She turned back around, eyes wide, cursing her luck. Maybe if she stayed absolutely still, he wouldn't notice her…

Scorpius' eyes roved over the tent and found her instantly, pinning her where she stood. The heels clattered unheeded from her slack grip as his eyebrows shot up, mimicking her expression.

Rose floundered for something appropriate to say and came up with a real gem: "Umm…hi."

He looked amused, a small smirk tugging at his lips which he was evidently trying to fight down. "Hi."

She swallowed nervously, taking in his sexily mussed hair, the day-old stubble and the faint nail marks on his completely exposed chest. Had she done that? Her gaze landed on the sheets riding low on his waist, her cheeks flushing with a vivid mental image.

"That's a good look for you. Though I must say it would be much improved were you not trying to make good your nefarious escape."

Her eyes snapped back up to his amused ones, startled by what he'd said.

She opened her mouth, her mind an absolute blank. "I-"

'…_I'll boil you up some hot, strong love to keep you warm tonight…'_

With a considerable amount of relief she pounced on the device, seizing up her hairclip and attempting to speak into it in her flustered state before transfiguring it back into a phone.

"Hello?" she said, uncomfortably conscious of Scorpius' gaze on her. She resolutely turned her back to him.

"HELLO? ROSIE? IS THAT YOU?"

She cringed and held the phone away from her ear, clutching her head in pain.

"Dad?"

"ROSIE, ARE YOU OKAY? WAIT, HOLD ON- Hermione, why is it beeping? Is that supposed to happen? It's not going to explode is it?"

Rose could hear an unnatural amount of static on the line and her mum's voice over the line. "Honestly, Ronald, you don't need to shout! And if you'd stop pressing all those buttons-"

"ROSIE? CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

"Dad! Dad, I can hear you just fine! Talk normally, please?"

She glanced behind her to see Scorpius had gotten out of bed and was in the process of pulling his pants on. She stared, jaw slack, at his physique in the clear light.

Woah…

"Hello, Rose? How's Egypt? This is mum. I'm sorry about your dad, he's got a nasty habit of yelling at muggle devices…"

Rose tore her eyes away from the sex-god in front of her, attention back on the phone call. "Yeah, I know," she grinned. "What's the matter? Is everything alright?"

"Well…your dad had an accident at work, Rose. We're in Mungos now."

"What?" Rose yelped, drawing Scorpius' attention.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What's wrong?" She said into the phone.

"Is that Scorpius? Say Hi to him, dear."

"Mum! What happened to dad?"

"Oh, right. Well nothing major. He was refereeing the match between Kenmare and Chudleigh. One of the Kestrel players took offence to what he thought was an unfair call and hexed Ron so he ended up dangling from one of the supports in the stadium. He broke a wrist and suffered a concussion and now he's having some sort of midlife crisis. I really don't know what- SHUT UP RON!"

"Gimme the phone 'Mione! I want to talk to my only child!"

"Hey!" Hugo protested.

"Sorry, Hugh. I meant my only _girl_ child."

Rose could distinctly hear her younger brother grumbling as the phone was passed back to her dad.

"Rosie!" Ron's volume was mercifully normal. "Your mother must have told you, but I think it is my duty to inform you. Rose, your poor father- that's me- is on his deathbed. And I want to see my only child's face again before I pass away into the void. Is that a crime? I don't think so- Shut up, Hugo, my lovely boy, I'm talking to your sister- Come home, Rosie!"

Rose stared speechlessly into midair for a while, cogs turning slowly in her brain.

"You want me….to come home?"

"Yes!"

"Now?"

"Yes!"

"How?"

"Oh," said Ron comfortably. "That won't be a problem. I'll get Bill to sort it out. Or Harry. I'm almost dead anyway, so I oughtn't to be working." There was a vague crackling sound over the line and then, "Okay, I have to go now, honey. Take care- Gin! I like my coffee black!"

"No you don't!" Ginny protested. "You hate black!"

"Well, I love it now, don't I? Blimey, what's a man to do around here-"

The line went dead.

Rose lowered the phone cautiously, turning around to look at a still shirtless Scorpius.

"So…" he said slowly. "Are we leaving, then?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Rose clutched on to Adam, wrapping him in a tight embrace. When she pulled away, she was surprised to find her eyes slightly wet.

"Hey, cheer up!" he said bracingly. "I'll write you. We'll exchange letters all the time and I'll drop by if I ever come to England."

Rose sniffed, taking a step back. "You'd better, Dyer. I'm going to miss you."

She was quite taken aback by the truth of this statement. She'd only known Adam for a few days and yet it felt as if she was leaving behind her childhood chum.

Adam grinned at her, and reached out a hand to ruffle her hair. He laughed as Rose ducked out of the way. "I'll miss you too, Rosie. By the way," he lowered his voice conspiratorially and glanced around, "how was your night?"

Rose turned scarlet and stammered out a response. "w-what do you mean?"

"Oh, come now, Rosie! I know all about you and Mr. Malfoy over there getting it on. I just want to hear you admit it."

Rose gaped at him. "Who else knows?"

Adam shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, just a few people…you know….everyone."

Rose groaned, smacking herself on the head. "I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I- Oh, Merlin!"

"Aah come on now, it couldn't have been all _that_ bad!"

"It wasn't…" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, determinedly not meeting his eyes. "It was quite…you know…"

"Fantastic? Satisfying? Mind blowing? All of the above?" he supplied helpfully.

Rose glared at him, frowning her disapproval. "Yes." She said curtly, unable to stop a smile from tugging at her lips.

"Well," Adam said heavily, glancing at his watch. "You're going to miss your portkey if you don't rush. I'll see you around, Weasley."

"Likewise, Dyer."

They embraced one last time and Rose pecked him on the cheek before moving off to find Scorpius who'd been busy fetching their luggage from the motel.

He was standing near a forlorn cactus, studiously ignoring Natalie who was shooting the pair of them death glares every few seconds.

Rose's voice when she addressed him was deliberately cool and she hoped desperately that only she could detect the slight quiver in it. "Got the stuff?"

He turned to look at her, face impassive. "Yeah. Listen, Rose-"

"We should get going then. Portkey in two minutes."

She looked away determinedly, watching Adam's figure as he lumbered towards the pyramid, heading for the entrance. Natalie flipped her off when she turned to her and scowling, Rose returned the favour.

Finally with ten seconds left to spare, she placed her index finger on the gleaming hairbrush, preparing herself for the customary jerk behind the navel.

The sand and pyramids seemed to swirl around them as they were sucked into the magical vortex, blending into a confused riot of colour and memories.

XXXXXX

Rose charged past the healers and open doors, making a beeline for the last ward. It was infuriating, but whereas she was almost running through the halls, Scorpius had no problem keeping up with his longer legs.

"Rose, wait, I think we need to talk-"

"Oh will you look at that? I think someone transfigured that poor man's head into a chamber pot. Poor thing."

"Rose-"

"Oh wow, is that a cow?"

_We need to talk? _ Rose had enough relationship experience to know that those four words never boded well. She was, to put it simply, terrified. Sleeping with Scorpius had completely changed the dimensions of their relationship. Were they dating? Were they in love/lust? Were they even _friends?_

He'd probably just wanted a shag anyway…he was probably trying to let her down easily. After all, she'd been the one to practically assault him, he'd probably just gone along for the ride. That was what guys did, right?

Rose cursed her wantonness for the millionth time, shaking her fist at Past-Rose. That girl was so dead…

But given the opportunity, would she tell Scorpius to bugger off right now if she could repeat last night?

Hmmm….probably not.

A few of the more compromising events popped up in her head and Rose practically flew through the ward doors, diving in as if it was a sanctuary for those on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"ROSIE!"

A loud cheer went up as her family spotted her. The cheer died down as she tripped over a potted fern and face-planted on the ground. She sprang up instantly, ridiculously large smile pasted on her face and rushed forward to embrace her father before Scorpius had even walked in.

"Dad! How are you?"

"Rosie, you made it! I'm so glad you got my fellytone call, I wasn't sure it was you."

Ron was lying propped up on a single bed, surrounded by large flower bouquets and what looked like the entire stock of Honeydukes. He would have looked perfectly healthy and normal if it weren't for the aura of pure bliss hanging around him like a fluffy cloud.

"Rosie!" James hooked an arm around her neck and reeled her in, ruffling her hair with his knuckles. Rose gagged into his armpit, trying to turn her face away. "Leggo, you turd!"

He released her instantly, looking slightly sheepish. "Where's Al?" She asked, looking around for the familiar head of tousled black hair.

James stuck his tongue out, clearly displeased about something. "The lucky bugger is on vacation. Like you were, I suppose. Gone with his girlfriend too…hmmph. I bet he's getting some right now. Unlike us unlucky ones, eh Rosie?"

"Er," Rose said. "yeah, totally." She glanced back to see Scorpius leaning against the doorframe, looking away from the crowd gathered around her dad's bed. He was clearly giving the family space.

Slumped around the bed in various poses of exhaustion were Hugo, her mum, Aunt Ginny, James and Dom who was sleeping with her head thrown back and a trickle of drool on her chin.

"I don't know why Harry can't be here when I'm only moments away from death." Ron was whining. "'Mione, my love! Pass us a chocolate frog?"

Hermione's head jerked up from her notes, bushy curls flying.

"Rose!" she got up to hug her daughter, patting her apologetically on the back. "I'm really sorry about this. I hope you weren't in the middle of something important in Giza. I'd hate for your work to be disrupted."

"Er, nothing particularly important, no."

"Great. Well, I have to run, I have a meeting with the minister in ten minutes. I'll see you lot at home for dinner?" Hermione was already halfway across the room, forgotten notes levitating behind her. She paused at the door, stumbling a little. "Oh, hello Scorpius. Great running into you, hope you had fun in Egypt. Come for dinner if you like! You can be Rose's date!"

To Rose's abject horror, her mother actually turned around and winked rather unsubtly at her before dashing out the door, leaving behind a bewildered silence.

"So," Ron said, chomping on a pink Bertie bean. "Now that my wife has abandoned me in my hour of need, let's get down to business, eh? Rose, you sit on that chair over there- no, the other one- and Ginny get me a cup of coffee before I fall asleep. Merlin knows if I'll wake again…"

Unsurprisingly enough, Ginny ignored Ron's request, flipping him off without looking up from her book.

Rose sat on the chair designated to her, trying her best not to laugh at the scene so typical of her dysfunctional family. James took the seat next to her, propping his feet, muddy boots and all, up on the clean bed. Hugo sat slumped next to a still asleep and now snoring Dom, looking quite depressed.

Ron cleared his throat, swishing his arms outward pompously. "My children, sister and godson be gathered here before me as I deliver my parting address. And Dominique, my niece, who is here in spirit." Dom let out a particularly loud snore at this point. "I let it be known that I bequeath the seeds of my love to my children who shall…er-what's the word?- cherish them and propagate them among the masses so all may know the love of Ronald Bilius Weasley The First."

He paused here and Ginny shut her book with a loud snap, rising up vengefully. "Ron, you prat! I don't care if you're concussed, this is ridiculous! I have better things to do with my time. I'm out of here."

She stalked past them all, scowling as she brushed past Scorpius. As she did, Ron seemed to notice the blond for the first time.

"Scorpius! My child!" He enthused.

Rose, James and Hugo froze. Dom snored.

"Come join us! Take a place in the circle of love!" Ron waved his arms around as Scorpius looked around warily, presumably mapping out exit routes.

Ron's waving grew more insistent and Scorpius approached the bedside hesitantly, sinking into the chair Ginny had vacated.

"I hope you're feeling better, Sir." He offered politely.

"Oh, I'm peachy!" Ron said affably, beaming at him. "And how are you, son?" He reached out and took Scorpius' hand in his own, much to the latter's horror. Rose stifled a laugh as she saw him visibly struggling not to pull away.

"Er-I'm fine, sir."

"Tosh! Enough of this sir nonsense! Why, you are my future son-in-law. Will you be calling me sir even when you've married my only child?"

"Dad!"

"DAD!"

"Quiet, children." Ron waved a dismissive hand at his indignant son and highly flustered daughter.

Rose noted with silent fury that James was laughing so hard he'd fallen off his chair. Even Dom seemed to have woken up, her eyes following the exchange excitedly. She grinned at Rose, tongue in cheek.

"Er, Sir?- I mean, Mr. Weasley?" Scorpius looked ready to jump out the window and at this point Rose wished he would just to end their misery.

Ron's eyes seemed to have misted over as he patted Scorpius' hand, sniffing loudly. "My deepest apologies, son." He said gruffly. "I know I've been a right git to you in the past. It's nothing personal, just your father and I never got along you see. But now, lying here, at the threshold of death's doors I find that it no longer matters if my Rosie marries a pureblood. She can marry whoever she wants!...except that cow Parkinson's spawn, there's something wrong with that child…"

Ron trailed off, thrown off his stride. His grip loosened and Scorpius pulled his hand back so fast, it was practically a blur. Thankfully, Ron was too out of it to notice.

"You did save my Rosie's life…yes," he said firmly, as if convincing himself. "You did. And you are rather a beautiful boy I suppose. If I had a chance of living past tonight, I would love to see the faces of my lovely grandchildren. You must have at least five, my boy! Nothing wrong with a good wholesome number…bloody 'Mione doesn't agree…"

Rose wished she could sink through the floor of the ward and right into the loony bin where she clearly belonged after this episode. She could practically hear her mind cracking.

"Erm, dad?" Hugo asked tentatively. "Why are you sucking your thumb?"

Rose's head whirled around to see that her father was indeed sucking his right thumb, grinning loopily around it. James burst into a fresh round of laughter, sinking to his knees, completely red in the face. He doubled over, wheezing from lack of air. "Haaha…oh, Merlin! I love this!"

Scorpius looked vaguely repulsed but mostly amused as Ron started to hum an old tune. "Weasley is our king…he always lets the quaffle in….oh wait, he _never _lets the quaffle in….right, right…fetch us a cuppa will you Hugh? I think I'm ready to die now, but a cup of tea would really hit the spot."

Rose shot up, jumping over James as he sprawled across the floor, face down. "I'll get it!"

"I'll help!" Dom sprang up quickly. "I make lovely tea- just ask Kreacher! Be right back, Uncle Ron!"

Ron didn't seem to notice as he initiated a conversation about the merits of playing on a mop rather than a broomstick with an agitated Scorpius.

XXXXXXXXX

"Merlin…that was a disaster…"

Dom chuckled, keeping pace with Rose. "It was quite entertaining, actually. So, tell me about Egypt! What happened with you and Mr. HottyMacpherson back there?"

Rose shrugged, trying to look casual. "Oh you know, nothing much. The usual….bickering, bantering, andishaggedhimokay?, general fighting…"

"Oh. My. God."

Rose shut one eye and grimaced as she waited for the explosion.

"YOU SHAGGED HIM?"

"Just a little bit…"

Dom paused, staring at a wall, jaw wide open. Her eyes slid out of focus as she turned to look at Rose. "You. Shagged. Him."

"I might have done, yes." Rose said uncomfortably.

Slowly, a manic grin broke out across her face, eyes glittering like a grindylow's. "I knew it! _I knew it! Hello, _galleons!"

"Wait-what?"

Dom glanced at Rose, shamelessly pumping her fists. "Oh, I had a bet with Al over whether or not you'd shag Scorpius in Egypt. I win! Plus the extra twenty galleons from Fred over whether you'd shag him at all. Wow….I am bloody fucking rich!"

Rose's jaw dropped open. "Y-you guys! Treachery! Backstabbation! You placed BETS on whether Scorpius and I- Oh, Merlin! Jesus! Buddha! Bhagwan! Allah! WHAT THE-"

"Quiet over there! This is a hospital!"

Rose took a deep shuddering breath, willing self-control.

_Am very calm, Hare Hare. Am very strong, Hare Hare. Am at peace with world, Hare Hare._

"Who?" she spat out, managing to not punch Dom.

"Oh," Dom said casually. "Well, there's me, Al, Fred, Roxie, Lucy, Vicky, Ted, Lily, and Uncle George. James refused to participate saying that it was childish and immature and why would anyone shag a Slytherin? But we all know it's because he spent all of his last paycheck drinking at the Four Eyed Witch and doesn't have any money to gamble."

Rose deflated, suddenly feeling very small.

"Oh…" she said weakly, wandering into a random ward.

Her dazed senses were assaulted by a strong wall of male cologne as she bumped into someone's back. The man spun around, bestowing a toothy grin on her and Dom.

He swept his fair hair, streaked with grey, out of his eyes, looking benignly down upon them.

"Hello, girls! Come for an autograph? I'm a healer, you know. Very famous. Gilderoy Lockhart at your service. But you must know all that, of course."

He continued to smile at them, rummaging in his pockets. Rose and Dom exchanged identical looks of skepticism and delight. They'd heard all about Gilderoy Lockhart of course…

Pinned to his lime-green robes was a badge proudly declaring him _Assistant Healer, Spell Damage._

The jovial man pulled out a stack of coloured pictures, signing them with a flourish. "I'm really very good at signing my name. Used to have an awful lot of trouble before, but don't tell anyone! It'll be our little secret, eh?"

He winked conspiratorially at them, tapping the side of his nose with the wet quill. He looked ridiculous with the blue ink smeared across his face.

"Gill! Where are you, mate?"

Another man in lime green robes materialized, grasping Lockhart firmly by the upper arm. "There you are! Why don't you go to talk to old Mr. Bagnold, he seems to be feeling awfully low today. Leave these lovely ladies alone for a bit, yeah?"

"Oh, very well, very well." Lockhart stowed away the quill and pictures and tipping an imaginary hat at his audience, pranced off to another section of the spacious ward.

"Sorry about that," The young healer said, smoothing down his robes. "He's really very excitable. But does wonders for our older patients, seems to amuse them. And you are…oh!" His eyes widened as they landed on Rose. "I know you! You came in with the almost-dead bloke didn't you?"

Rose recognized the man abruptly. He was the healer who'd looked her over the day she'd found the man in the alley, when she'd run into him being tortured by the killer.

"Yeah, that's me." She said, surprised he remembered her. "How's the guy I came in with? Is he still here?"

"Unfortunately, he's not doing very well." The healer said gravely. His nametag pronounced him to be Davies, Jonathan. "He's completely paralyzed. Not a peep out of him since we got him here. He's pretty stable though so I don't think he's in any immediate danger."

Dom looked between the two of them, confused and Rose mentally smacked herself for having forgotten completely about the elder man. She'd never even thought to ask whether he was still alive and if he was under protection as well.

"Do you want to see him?" Jonathan asked abruptly. "He's right here. I imagine he would want to meet the young lady who saved his life."

"Oh," Rose stepped up, slightly flustered. "Well, okay."

Davies smiled at her reassuringly and led her and Dom to a bed with curtains drawn around it. He pulled them back, revealing a shrunken figure enveloped by sheets. The elderly man's eyes fluttered open as they stepped forward hesitantly, not wanting to crowd him.

His posture was completely lax, only his eyes moving. They landed on the healer first, blinking in recognition. "Hello, Mr. Karkaroff. How are you today? You have some visitors. I think you may know one of them." He smiled gently at the wizened figure even as Rose jolted backwards.

Karkaroff?

She glanced at the chart beside the bed and relaxed, nudging Dom with her elbow to draw her attention to it.

_Ivan Karkaroff_

_Ailment: Trauma and full body paralysis_

_Condition: Stable _

She remembered reading that Igor Karkaroff, the dead ex-death eater had had a younger brother. This must be him. But she didn't remember anything about the brother also being involved in the dark arts. Why had he been attacked?

Ivan Karkaroff's eyes wandered slowly from Davies' face to Dom's and then finally to Rose's.

What happened next was completely unexpected.

The old man's face seemed to jolt with shock as he struggled upwards, falling back instantly. His eyes rolled back in his head, his entire frame shuddering with strain. Davies was yelling something but Rose's ears were numb with shock. What was happening to him?

A rough hand grabbed her and yanked her backwards, out of the man's line of vision.

Instantly, he slumped back down, eyes slanting frantically from left to right.

Rose stood gaping with shock and fear as healers swarmed around the bed, calming the old man down. She was vaguely aware that someone had her arm in a vice-grip but as the pressure lessened, she stumbled backwards into strong arms.

"It's okay," Scorpius said, gripping her gently.

Rose just shook her head and continued to watch the drama unfold.

* * *

**A/N: Did y'all expect that? **

**I bet you'd all forgotten about the poor chap from the very first chapter! **

**Tut tut. **

**What did you think of Ronnie-wonniee! His scenes are so much fun to write. **


	19. Heavy

**A/N: It's Sundaaay! And I have a week off from school to celebrate Diwali- that's the festival of lights to all those who haven't been raised in the subcontinent. i.e.- All of you minus three. Still, I refuse to burst firecrackers because I don't want to live under a great huge gaping hole in the ozone layer and also because I have a terrible fear of being set on fire due to my clumsiness. **

**Anyway, moving on, WE REACHED 300! Hooh-haah! Bazinga! I am so proud- it's like watching my kid getting a high school diploma- disturbing analogy for a 17 year old girl to make. My love for you all is like, sniff, so great. I think Pal the bad ass and Egghead may just punch me in the face if I continue to bug them about this fic in school. (Nah, they lurve me/it!)**

**Thanks to my lovlaaaay reviewers: SaruDM, thestarlitrose, amy, x-rayLady, euphoenix, CrimsonBludger83, ainat92, lilbuddie715, scentasia, Missdagane, Tishica, ClimbingMonkey13, Love without expectation, Mrs. Theodore Nott, xiLynnx, Sundance1989, Rachel, Palak/Egghead and ohmygolly.**

**Dedication :**** This chapter is for ClimbingMonkey13, the 300th reviewer and also one of those who leaves absolutely brilliant reviews. You always notice the finer details of the chapter and not just the dramatic/end bits and that's really gratifying as I put in equal effort in all parts of a chapter. :) So thanks, for making me grin idiotically with each of your reviews!**

**Okay, last thing, this chapter is slightly dark-it's not the same upbeat tone as last chapter was with Won-Won(glad you all loved him so much!) but I hope you'll like it just as much. And the song choice is so bloody appropriate for this whole fic, don't you think?**

* * *

_Who is the betrayer?_

_Who's the killer in the crowd?_

_The one who creeps in corridors_

_And doesn't make a sound_

Heavy in Your Arms- Florence & the Machine

Chapter 19:

"Pass me the dreamless sleep potion." Davies held a hand out to one of the healers, expecting a vial. Instead Scorpius stepped forward, pushing his hand down.

"No. Not yet."

The healer turned and raised a coppery eyebrow at him. "And who may I ask, are you?"

Scorpius' jaw tightened as he drew out his medallion with the ministry stamp on it. "Auror, first class. I need to ask the patient a few questions."

Davies' eyes flickered from the ministry stamp to Scorpius' face and back again. "Fine," he said disgustedly. "Do what you have to but make it quick."

He back away, disapproval etched clearly in his face as Scorpius approached the twitching figure.

Glancing around, he noticed the large crowd that had gathered around the bed. He waved his hand at them in a clear dismissal. "Get back to work!" He said sharply.

The crowd trickled away slowly with many a backward glance, until only Rose, Dominique and Lockhart remained, the last standing off to the side, confused as to why his fans were leaving without an autograph.

With a practiced sigh, Davies steered the hapless man towards Bagnold and sat him down on a stool. "Stay here." He said firmly. "Talk to Mr. Bagnold."

The old wizard grinned at him with toothless gums and chattered noisily to Lockhart who nodded along, mind elsewhere.

The young healer returned to where he'd left his most important patient, already sick and tired of his day.

The blond man was sitting on one side of the bed, his shoulders rigid with tension.  
"Mr. Karkaroff, answer my questions in any way you can. Yes or No will suffice." He said, voice impersonal. "Are you acquainted with Rose Weasley?"

The victim's eyes flickered over to the redhead, pupils contracting with fear as he looked at her. With what looked like a stupendous effort, his head moved a fraction of an inch to the left.

"I'll take that as a No." Scorpius said, studying Ivan's reaction carefully. There was none, aside from a flicker of the eyes that could almost have been construed as sarcasm.

Rose made to approach the bedside but Davies' hand shot out, grasping her elbow. "Stay back," he cautioned. "I don't want him getting too excited."

She nodded, eyes already back on the scene in front of her.

Scorpius was silent for a while, phrasing his next question in his head.

"Do you have reason to believe that Rose Weasley may be in danger?"

Karkaroff inclined his head, chin dipping downwards sharply. One of his fingers twitched involuntarily.

Davies stepped forward again, resting a hand on Scorpius' shoulder.

"That's enough," he said firmly. "This can be permanently detrimental to his neural activity."

Scorpius fixed him with a glare and Davies removed his hand hastily. "One more question."

The healer shrugged. That was better than he'd hoped for.

Turning back to the paralyzed man, Scorpius knew he had to make his last question count.

"Do you know who the killer is?"

The audience of four watched with baited breath as Ivan's eyes flickered, drooping closed for a second as he fought to remain conscious.

Finally, with a dramatic gesture worthy of a standing ovation, he nodded once, eyes flickering back to Rose and staying there till his lids closed and he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

XXXXXX

Rose shut the door behind her, taking care to lock it. Her tiny apartment had an abandoned air to it though she had been gone only a few days. There was a thin film of dust over every surface and a great cloud of it rose up as she sat down heavily on the couch.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she gazed at the empty fireplace turning the day's events over in her head. They'd almost found out who the killer was. If only Ivan had been able to stay awake for a minute longer, maybe he'd have been able to reveal the identity of the mystery man. They could have used legilimency, or drawn out his memories and used them in a pensieve, maybe he would even have been able to say the name.

Rose shook the thoughts away, getting up to make herself a cup of tea. It was beginning to get chilly and after days of hanging out in the sun, England seemed gloomy and oppressive; especially with a crazed killer running around with bloodshed on his mind.

The doorbell rang, nearly scaring her out of her wits. She hurried over to the door at once, peering through the peephole to see Scorpius' silhouette, oddly twisted through the curved glass. She opened the door to let him in, stalking back towards the kitchen before he'd even entered, leaving him to lock up behind himself.

She started banging pots and pans about, searching for the gas lighter. She snatched her wand up frustrated, lighting the gas manually. She heard him enter the kitchen behind her and the scrape of a chair as he sat down on one of the tall stools at the island.

"The ministry's posting an auror outside the ward. He'll get the name of the killer as soon as Ivan wakes up. Your friend has a guard now, so you can stop abusing the crockery."

Rose nodded in acknowledgement, waiting impatiently for the water to boil. She could heat it up with magic of course, but then she'd have nothing to do and would have to turn around and face the elephant in the room.

"Cup of tea?" She asked, voice neutral.

"Wouldn't mind one, thanks."

There was an awkward break in conversation as Rose stared at the kettle and Scorpius stared at Rose.

She fetched two cups, making sure to give the island a wide berth. "Sugar?"

"Rose."

"And milk of course?" She babbled. "Unless you like it really sour. I find tea always tastes better with milk in it. Don't you agree? Or are you one of those black coffee, black tea types? Everything sour, doom and gloom la la la-"

"Rose."

His tone hadn't changed and neither had the volume but Rose shut up as quickly as if she'd been chastised.

She could hear him getting up, the chair legs scraping across the floor again as his weight shifted. The muscles in her back tensed and his approach seemed almost tangible as if the air between them was solid and getting compressed with each step he took towards her.

He laid one hand on her shoulder and even though she'd been expecting it, it came as a shock. She sprang away as if she'd been scalded. "Don't touch me!"

His eyes flashed and there was a dreadful silence as the two looked at each other over the merrily boiling water.

He raised his hand again and Rose flinched involuntarily. She didn't know what was wrong with her or why she was trying to push him away. All she knew was that it was working. His eyes had widened in actual shock when she'd cringed away from his touch and his hand dropped limply back to his side.

"Rose," he said, voice dead serious. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She said, stirring her empty cup furiously with a metal spoon.

He reached out slowly, and took the cup and spoon from her, drawing them away as carefully as if they were explosive devices. With nothing else to hold on to, her fingers gripped the edge of the marble slab tightly, holding on as if she were about to face anti-gravity.

The silence drew out, impenetrable and unbearable. She could hear the clock in the hallway ticking loudly. The sound was enough to drive anyone round the bend.

"Rose-"

"I'M SCARED, OKAY? Happy? D'you find it funny? Brave little Gryffindor girl, little miss know-it-all is _scared." _Her voice dripped with disdain directed at herself.

Scorpius seemed to be about to reach out again but checked himself, drawing back slightly. "It's okay to be scared." He said instead, his words a poor substitute for a comforting touch.

"Look," Rose said, taking the kettle off the boil and tipping its contents into the two cups. "I am really freaked out right now, okay? This sort of thing- it's not real. It doesn't happen. You don't just get _chosen _to be killed- like, like a pig for slaughter. For being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How easy is it to die anyway? How many people die because they were just- just unlucky!"

She slid a cup over to Scorpius as he leaned against the counter, watching her carefully. "I mean, how insignificant is that? One second you're alive and have been for years and years and then the next- the next you're just dead or paralyzed or disfigured or mental or-" Tea tipped out of her cup as her hands shook and she grabbed a cloth wiping over it mechanically.

"Sit down."

She looked up, distracted, still scrubbing the same spot. "What?"

"Sit down."

He took her elbow gingerly, leading her to one of the dust covered couches. She was barely aware of sinking down onto it, her head lowering itself automatically to rest against her knees.

She wasn't sure where Scorpius was, but a moment later his hands were on her knees, twisting locks of her hair gently around his fingers. She could feel his body heat as he kneeled in front of her, silent for the moment.

When he spoke, his voice was deliberately measured and gentle. "Rose, nothing is going to happen to you. Not while I'm here. I promise you that at the very least."

Her response was lost in the mass of red hair as it tumbled past her shoulders. Her knees were pressing painfully into her forehead but it dulled the headache or made it worse- she wasn't sure which.

"Can you say that again?" He requested.

"What," she said clearly, "if I don't want you here?"

She felt the cool rush of air immediately as he removed his hands from her knees, her hair falling limply back towards the ground as it slipped out of his fingers.

"That, I'm afraid, changes things a little."

She cringed at his tone, cool and impersonal. But she'd asked for it, literally begged for it. So she was going to take his indifference.

"I can't deal with you right now." she whispered.

He laughed harshly, standing up till he towered over her slumped form. "Deal with me?"

"Us." She amended. "I can't deal with us right now."

"I see." He said coldly. "Are we really going to do this again, Rose?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said to her knees, voice very low.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." His voice was dry as he moved away from her, picking up the abandoned cup of tea.

Rose didn't know what to say to that. It was true and she wasn't about to refute it.

Her gaze was fixed firmly on her knees, the skin so close all she could see was shadows. There was no question of raising her head, she may as well try to lift a battleship.

"Nice tea." Scorpius commented lightly. "Could use a little milk though." He added, with perhaps a touch of mockery.

Rose didn't react to the jibe and there was silence for a long time. There was absolutely no sound, not even a rustle or a slight cough and she wondered vaguely how he could manage to keep so absolutely still. She recalled how she had never been able to sit quietly, constantly fidgeting, playing with stationery or her hair- and then realized with sinking dread that she hadn't moved for longer than him.

A rushing sound filled her ears, her head snapping up reflexively as unexpected heat flooded the room. The fireplace was green with dancing flames and she shielded her watering eyes half-heartedly. A man swathed in a billowing cloak stepped out and she raised her head, finally, to acknowledge her visitor.

The man raked a hand through his hair, picking up on the palpable tension immediately. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No." Scorpius said, standing up. "Is something wrong, Sir?"

Harry hesitated, looking towards Rose. "I thought I'd find you here. The thing is, Scorpius, something _is _wrong."

Rose glanced up, the conversation catching her attention. What else could possibly be wrong?

"What is it?" Scorpius asked immediately.

"Bad news or good news first?"

"Bad." Scorpius said mechanically, without pausing to think.

"It's your father, Draco. He's…he's been attacked. He's in bad shape but he's alive and in Mungo's."

Scorpius nodded, face stony. "It was expected."

Harry looked fraught with guilt as he turned back towards the fireplace. "I just wanted to let you know and…I'm really sorry we couldn't prevent it. I'll assign an auror to him as soon as we can get one. It would be best if you were free for it, of course, but…"

His gaze flickered to Rose and then back up to Scorpius.

Both men turned to look at Rose as she stood unsteadily, swaying slightly. She turned to Scorpius, leaning against the couch for support. "Go."

"What?"

It was Harry not Scorpius who this question came from.

"Go," she repeated urgently. "Family is more important than…than anything else." _Than us. "_I'll be fine, Uncle Harry can assign the other auror to me while your dad is…sick." _dying. _"And anyway, I don't need you anymore. We'll know who the killer is soon enough and then it'll be over."

She turned to look at Harry, eyebrows raised questioningly as if to say _Right? _

He looked uncertainly between the two younger wizards, sensing something that ran deeper than genuine concern for an injured man.

He nodded slowly. "I suppose. Once we get the name from Ivan, it'll be a matter of days before the thing comes to a head. One way or the other, he's not going to be out there much longer."

"See?" Rose said triumphantly. "You can leave now." She pointed to the fireplace. "Right now." _Get out. _

Scorpius looked at her and for a second his impassive mask faltered and beneath it he looked torn- with indecision, hurt and above all, worry.

"GO!"

He went.

XXXXXXXXX

The auror on duty shifted in the plastic seat, reaching back to scratch his behind. He'd been waiting for the old man to wake up for over twelve hours now and no amount of caffeine or energy potions were going to keep him up for much longer.

He snapped his fingers as a healer walked past and the man in lime-green robes turned around, affronted. "Yes?"

He scratched his cheek, stubble cutting into his fingers. "How much longer before the old coot wakes up?"

"I wouldn't know," the healer said stiffly. "I'll let you know the moment he regains consciousness."

With a dismissive flare of his robes, the healer stalked away, muttering angrily to himself.

Gallagher shrugged and resumed his silent vigil, his old bones creaking painfully. He'd been brought out of retirement and for what?- To wait for other old men to wake up and talk to him.

He snorted at that, unfolding the daily prophet. If he wanted to be bored half to death, he'd go play bridge with his daughter-in-law's muggle parents. At least they served brandy over there.

XXXXXXX

The old man was very much awake, his intestines liquefying with raw fear as he stared up at the face of his nightmares. The man above him, sat down to his left, just out of Ivan's view.

His hood was down as it usually was when he came to visit. How many times had it been now? He couldn't remember but it wasn't very important. He only knew that it would continue to happen until the day he died- and if he was lucky, that day was today.

"Now," the killer said, drawing off his gloves to reveal pale hands. "Where did I put that pesky knife?"

A spasm of fear jolted through Ivan. He had been threatening to use the knife for a while now, but had promised to use it only for the grand finale. He closed his eyes in brief acceptance, preparing himself for pain.

"I knew your brother." There was the metallic swishing sound of the flat side of a blade being dragged across the sheets. "Very charming man."

His sleeve was pushed back gently, his forearm cradled in a cold hand. "Igor, was it? Yes, I think it was." The tip of the blade pierced his skin, red beads of blood welling up like the tears of pain in his eyes.

The sharp blade made a neat incision across his left forearm and for almost ten seconds, there was no pain.

And then it hit him. Great rolling waves of it as the blade went over his skin again and again, forming crude curves and criss-crossing lines.

"Have you ever raped anyone?" He asked conversationally. "I know Igor did. Oh, we all knew he did. But did anyone care? Of course not."

Screams wanted to burst from his pipes but all he could manage were grunts of pain. His lungs seemed unable to fill themselves, to produce even the smallest of screams.

The blade left his skin after an eternity. Red droplets dripped onto the white sheets as the artist surveyed his handiwork. "Not bad," he commented lightly. "I'll get better with practice I suppose. What do you think?"

He held up Ivan's limp arm to his eyes, rivulets of blood running down his forearm, collecting in every ridge on his skin, trailing down to turn white to red. He was not surprised to see the crudely cut skull with its grinning mouth and the twisting serpent winding out of it.

"There!" The man said, sounding satisfied. "Brothers till the end, eh Ivan?"

He was not worthy of being called a man. He was- a monster, to put it simply. And in his weakened state that was the only way Ivan could put it. Given time and a limb that moved, he could have filled up rolls of parchment describing the man's atrocities, could have written his name over and over so even He could not erase them all before someone knew of his treachery.

"Now, now, Ivan. I don't like where your thoughts are going. I can see it in your face. You despise me. I disgust you. But I am better than you will ever be and I think that's good enough, don't you? I have an appointment to keep later today- After you're dead, of course. Odd to know life goes on whether you live or die, isn't it? I thought so too…" He paused, wiping the red blade on Ivan's hospital gown.

"It's with a pretty little redhead we both know. You saw her today, I think. Very naughty of you to almost give the game away. I'll do to her all those things I told you about- yes, Ivan, _all _of them. I think I'll have plenty of time on my hands.

"And then later, I can go finish daddy Draco and little Albus. And that fool Macmillan. Have I forgotten anyone? Never mind, I have all the time in the world." He carefully placed the blade in both of Ivan's hands, folding them over his chest in a gruesome parody of a dead body's posture in its final resting place.

"Poor Ivan. If only you could move your arms, you'd be able to take that knife and just stab me through the heart like I know you want to. If only."

He smiled down at him, patting his cheek softly.

Ivan watched as he rose to his feet, chair being pushed back. "Very well. I think our time is up. It was nice knowing you, friend."

It was with insurmountable relief that Ivan Karkaroff welcomed the hands that wrapped themselves around his throat, pressing firmly till his heart stopped beating.

* * *

**A/N: We're almost at the last stretch! The killer revealed, yada yada. **

**What did you think of the killer in this chapter?**

** Does he give you the heebajeebies? **

**And what about Draco? Will he be okay? -dun dun dun dun!-**

**Find out the answers to these questions and more in chapter 20, Ghostbusters Come To Town (Nah, I'm just kidding, that's not what it's called...probably), on the 25th of October, 2011! **

**Now available on computers near you. **

**Cha-ching! **


	20. Out Of Reach

**I just updated yesterday, but here we are! This chapter will answer questions and yet leave you with more. So do be patient, yeah? If this was a novel, you wouldn't have to wait, but alas! (If this was a novel, you'd also have to pay and I would be rich.) Hmm. Win-Win? **

**Thanks to all those who rev'ved. Y'all rev my engine. (Even though that means something else entirely :P)- ainat92, euphoenix, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, Tishica, Roseweasley85, Sundance1989, Love without expectation, SaruDM, arrrgghimapiratenow, amy, AA, Rachel, lilbuddie715, Cass, TheInnerMusingsOfMe and a-riggs2011.**

**Also, big thanks to all those who've alerted/favourited recently. Please do leave a review, I'd love to hear from you all while I still can! Edwardluvv, Jalice Hale, Darthjontan, kcastillo11, meganwastaken, Mrs Kerryn Potter, squibalicious and RAINaraina.**

**Okay, onwards!**

* * *

**Chapter 20:**

Gallagher jerked awake with a snort, the newspaper slipping from his grasp with a rustle. He rubbed his eyes, bending to pick it up. His senses registered the chaos around him, and he clambered laboriously to his feet, bewildered.

"Here, what's going on?" he demanded, cuffing a healer bustling past pompously.

The woman turned to face him, looking frantic. "Death in the Janus Thickey ward. I have to go-the patients are completely off their rockers."

The old auror jolted with surprise as he recognized the name of the ward. A trickle of apprehension crept in, threatening to turn into full-blown panic.

"Death you say?" he croaked. "Er-_natural_, was it?"

The woman turned back to face him, plucking her sleeve from his grasp. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked him over. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose details regarding the individual concerned." She said coolly.

Gallagher found himself puffing up indignantly, his ego bruised by this denial of his supreme right to know anything of interest. "I'm with the ministry, I am. Jim Gallagher, Reinstated Auror, third class."

The healer's eyes widened at this. "I see," she said slowly, as if turning his statement over in her head. Jim prepared to be led straight into the JT Ward. "Auror, are you?" she said, face purpling. Her eye twitched frighteningly. "Auror? Sitting outside the ward where a man has just been murdered?"

Gallagher's jaw dropped open, face aghast. "M-murdered?" He asked, as if he'd never heard the word before.

"Yes," she spat. "Murdered. Would you like to see?" She added acerbically.

The auror's mouth flapped soundlessly for a while.

"Er-who did you say died again?" He asked weakly.

"Oh, this old man." She consulted a clipboard, peering at it for a moment. "Ivan Karkaroff? So, would you like to see the victim?"

She looked up expectantly. Gallagher nodded, head feeling heavy.

"Oh, yes, absolutely," He managed to say, before tipping over backwards and fainting.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The owl battered the window with its beak, leaving rather noticeable pockmarks in the glass. Rose hastened to open it, ducking as the owl flew over her head, claws catching in her hair.

"Ruddy bird…" she muttered, smoothing it down. "What have you got for me, hmm?"

The owl hooted dolefully, holding out a leg to be tended to. Rose carefully untied the parchment, owl hopping restlessly as he did so.

Unfurling the parchment, she spared a glance at the bird as it took off, landing on top of the fridge.

_Dear Rosie,_

_I MISS YOU, WOMAN._

_Natalie is driving me nuts. I'm half wishing she reads this letter (wouldn't put it past her to intercept our mail) just so I have an excuse to hex her pants off. Well, maybe not her pants as that really just implies other things, but perhaps a few essential organs would do the trick?_

_We've started collecting dark artifacts from the pyramid now. There was this one really crazy mummy who sprang to life, insisting that Michael (my boyfriend! I pointed him out to you at the dance.) marry her instantly and free her from her curse (of celibacy, I think). Naturally, we got rid of her- was v. fun. We set her on to this one ghoul wandering around in one of the chambers and they're getting along splendidly. _

_Monster love is so inspiring. The Bitch is running a tight ship- she's been in a foul mood since you guys left and spent one hour screaming at me for using too much hair gel. (It was just a pea-drop! Honest!) Apparently my hair is 'emanating toxic fumes which are detrimental to the health of those within a radius of forty kilometers blah blah blah'. I don't think she deals with rejection very well. _

_Oh, good news- Millie isn't being sent home. Gnat wanted to pack her off, but we took a collective decision and overthrew her tyrannical rule. She said some rather crude words to me regarding my sexual preference and in retaliation, we're going to put love potion in her pumpkin juice. (Have successfully gathered DNA from aforementioned mummy for such purpose). Results will be interesting to observe. _

_Let's see what she has to say about my 'taste' after that. _

_How are things on your end? Have you gotten over your morning-after awkwardness yet? Certainly hope so, I think you ought to give this Scorpius bloke a chance- he's completely smitten. (Lucky you!)_

_Anyway, my lunch break is almost over. Must go check on how love potion is progressing. I think Nate was tending to it last...his potion skills better be up to scratch._

_Write back, or I'll kill you._

_Love,_

_Adam._

Rose smiled as she finished reading the letter, pulling a roll of blank parchment from a shelf. She stared at it blankly for a while before realizing that she needed a quill and ink. Galvanizing herself into activity, Rose accio-ed the implements, sitting down at the dining table to compose her reply.

She was glad for the distraction. Just 24 hours alone in her apartment and she was going mad. It was odd how accustomed she'd grown to having Scorpius around all the time. The flat felt eerily empty now, with just her as its occupant. And it didn't help that each time she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye or heard a strange sound, her heart would start hammering painfully, her insides constricting with fear.

As if the thought had flown from her mind and materialized, a strange rustle caught her attention and she spun on her heel, eyes darting around. She felt ridiculous, the way she did each time this happened, when she realized the sound was simply Adam's owl getting into a more comfortable position on its perch.

She was unnerved by how…insecure she felt now that Scorpius wasn't around. She'd lived by herself for about three years now but suddenly she couldn't help but think how unsafe it was for someone to live completely alone. And as much as it stung to admit it, she missed the stupid prat's company.

Without him hanging around cracking jokes and innuendos and generally distracting her, it was hard to keep from falling into paranoia and depression.

Shaking her head free of her morbid thoughts, she set quill to parchment and began scribbling her reply.

Minutes ticked by as she filled an entire scroll, until finally she had to force herself to set down the quill which was looking considerably worse for the wear. She blushed as she realized exactly how long her letter was- it could have been mistaken for a transfiguration essay at first glance.

It was as the Egyptian owl was flying away again, a black speck in the sky that her depression seemed to become tangible. Well, okay, so it wasn't depression as such...it was…_loneliness. _And loneliness made for a terrible combination with fear.

It was silly but it had somehow been better with the bird there. Now she was alone again and suddenly, the small flat seemed too constricting for her, the air too stifling.

Rose clutched her head, raking her fingers through her long hair till her hand fell back at her side.

_I can't stay here. _

She would go mad if she was alone for another second. Adam's letter had offered temporary respite but now it was worse than ever.

Tucking her wand into the waistband of her jeans and pocketing some muggle money, she headed for the door, stopping at the last minute.

Hastily tearing a scrap of parchment off the end of a roll, she scribbled a quick message.

_Have gone into muggle London, am safe._

_-Rose_

She stared at what she'd written, heart heavy as she realized that nobody would even see the message. She'd gotten used to having to tell someone where she was going but of course, Scorpius wouldn't be walking out of the spare bedroom to check on her every few minutes.

Crumpling up the note, she tossed it in the rubbish bin on her way out.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm fine, you know."

"No, you're not." Scorpius said, flipping through the daily prophet, gaze unfocused.

His father snorted derisively and muttered something incoherent.

"I ought to know whether I'm fine or not…"

Scorpius looked up from his paper, fixing Draco Malfoy with a baleful glare.

"What in Merlin's name possessed you to wander around Knockturn Alley at a time like this? The manor is perfectly safe, why couldn't you stay in there until we'd gotten this mess with the murderer sorted out? If you hadn't managed to apparate away…" he left the sentence hanging.

Draco rolled his eyes, buffing his nails against the sheets as he reclined on his hospital bed. He had a private room, of course. There was no way he was sharing with the common rabble…

"I'm an adult, Scorpius. An adult who happens to have given you the gift of life. Be more respectful."

Scorpius huffed in response, glaring daggers at an article on Twisting Turnips.

"Bloody irresponsible…"

Draco yawned and lay back, looking completely bored. "This is so dull." He complained. "Why can't I leave already? I'm perfectly fine now."

Scorpius restrained himself from rolling his eyes with great effort. "Dad, really? You had an unforgivable used on you. Is it really surprising that they want to keep you here for a couple of days? Speaking of which," he leaned forward urgently. "Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure that you didn't see your assailant's face?"

"For Salazar's sake, Scorpius! No, I did_ not _see the face of the bastard who attacked me. If I had, he'd be dead by now, I can assure you." He added haughtily.

Scorpius broke into a smirk at this. "Really? And I suppose it'd be you who'd track him down and kill him?"

"Of course not," Draco drawled. "I'd set your mother on him. The poor man would be begging for death by the time she'd be through with him."

The two men shared a laugh at the killer's expense, imagining Astoria Malfoy armed with a wand and a designer handbag setting all hell loose on some unsuspecting chap.

"Scorpius…" Draco said slowly.

He glanced up, giving his dad a questioning look. "Yeah?"

"Do you still like that Weasley girl? The one you've been guarding."

Scorpius started at this, face shutting down for a moment. He set aside the paper, turning his full attention to his dad; there was no point in prevaricating. "I do, actually." He said, unhesitant. "How could you tell?"

His dad turned to face him, propping himself up on his pillows. "You have that look on your face again. That horribly unattractive expression you used to get after a fight with her. Merlin knows, you looked like a gargoyle for months after she broke up with you."

Scorpius scowled at him. "Thanks," he said dryly. "I really needed to hear that."

Draco looked uncomfortable, seemingly struggling to say something.

"Look…I know that I didn't take you seriously when you told me about her all those years back. I thought it was another one of those rebellious things you did just to irk me-like putting up Chudley Cannon posters on my wardrobe with permanent sticking charms- and I thought you'd, you know….get what you needed from her and move on."

The younger Malfoy fixed his dad with a disgusted glare. "I'd really rather not talk about-"

"-Just listen, will you? The only reason I put up with it at all is because she _is _related to Granger and Pothead. I'm not proud of it but I'm not ashamed either. I still think it would be an advantageous connection. But-" He spoke quickly, talking over Scorpius' words as he tried to speak. "I can see that what you feel for this girl- er, _Rose- _is clearly beyond lust." Scorpius made a disgusted face at hearing his dad referring to his sex drive. "What I'm trying to say," He finished, "is that if you still like this girl, then I won't stand in your way. You, er, have your old man's approval if that counts for anything."

Scorpius blinked, surprised. This was a first and definitely not something which would ever have crossed Draco Malfoy's lips if he really were at the peak of his health. Clearly, his dad was a bit delusional if he was discussing feelings but Scorpius wasn't going to look a gift hippogriff in the mouth.

"It does," he said quietly to an embarrassed Draco who was determinedly not meeting his eyes. "It counts for a lot, Dad. But…I'm not sure where things are with Rose right now. She-Well, we'll see." He said heavily, not wanting to elaborate on the topic.

His dad simply nodded stiffly, accepting his words as they were. Both men were unwilling to drag the topic on for longer than was absolutely necessary.

Scorpius settled back in his chair, the time passing idly as he flicked through the paper.

There was a sudden hammering at the door as someone pounded on it furiously, completely disregarding the fact that they were in a hospital.

The door swung open slightly, revealing Alec Zabini's tanned face. "Scorp," he hissed. "Mate, it's a disaster! Er- can I come in?" he asked, finally glancing at the bedridden Draco who was observing the proceedings with a raised eyebrow.

Scorpius stood up instantly, motioning for Zabini to enter. The Italian did so, shutting to door behind him for privacy. "What is it?"

Alec's eyes flicked to Draco and then back to the blond in front of him as he spoke uncertainly. "It's Karkaroff. He's dead."  
Scorpius' breath caught as he realized the ramifications of this. "Fuck! When?"

"This morning. Okay, look, I have to go- the auror they'd put on the JT ward is an incompetent little shit-I have to go sort out the body, make sure we get any evidence possible."

Zabini nodded to him and then to Draco, slipping back out the door.

Silence reigned as Scorpius raked a hand through his hair, mind instantly locking in on Rose- Rose who was alone and one of the deranged killer's main targets.

He felt physically ill as he realized his hands were tied- he had to take care of his father, he couldn't just leave…

"Scorpius."

He looked up sharply, realizing he was perspiring slightly from sheer nerves.

"Scorpius, go."

"What?" He said, incredulous. Was his father really telling him to _leave? _

Draco sighed, rolling his eyes at his less than eloquent son. "I know you want to go protect that Weasley girl and I'm telling you to go do it." He headed Scorpius off again, waving a pale hand. "I'll be fine, this place is swarming with aurors right now. There's no way a killer is getting in here."

Scorpius shifted indecisively, part of him wanting to stay and another, louder part telling him to stop wasting time and _move. _

His dad's eyes narrowed as he continued to dawdle. "Are you leaving or do I have to tell your mother about the stack of _Playwitch_ magazines you hide under your bed?"

"You wouldn't!"

"Is that a fact?"

"Alright, Alright, old man! I'm leaving!"

XXXXXXXX

He picked up the crumpled paper, straightening it with his palms.

Having read it, he smiled and folded it into precise rectangles, dropping the chit into his pocket for safekeeping.

Then, humming a merry tune which suited his unusually jovial mood, he left the tiny apartment, sauntering away as if he hadn't a care in the world.

XXXXXXXX

The pub was unsurprisingly empty. There were a few hardcore patrons, of course, who considered it proper to be drunk in the middle of the day and the staff, flitting occasionally between tables or polishing glasses.

If it weren't for the lack of dodgy characters and the strange items listed on the bar menu, it could have passed for a wizarding joint. As it was, she was in a muggle pub with the jolly title of _The Headless Woman. _

She wondered what could possibly have possessed the owner to settle upon such a hideous name. But then again, maybe this was how muggles got their thrills- by visiting places with creepy names to make up for the lack of ghosts, ghouls, hags, werewolves and actual headless women.

As she pondered this while nursing a beer- the barmaid had given her a funny look when she'd asked for tea and this 'beer' stuff sounded like butterbeer- she noticed a man in a bulky overcoat making his way to her corner table.

His hands were deep in his pockets, an easy smile fixed on his aged face. Rose tensed slightly, straightening up to fix him with an unfriendly look.

"May I sit here?" He asked, grasping the back of the chair across from her. He was comfortably seated even before she'd had the opportunity to voice out her vehement "No."

She watched as he drew off his black gloves, stowing them away neatly into a pocket.

"I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind, actually." She said evenly.

The man smoothed down his hair- It had evidently been black at one time but had now acquired a salt and pepper look, which went with the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. Rose noted apprehensively that unlike her grandparents, this man had no smile lines.

"That's not very polite." He said finally. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners? Or were they too busy indulging themselves with all that money they stumbled upon?"

Rose's hand shot towards her wand, but even as she watched, the man across from her snapped his fingers lazily and the wooden stick flew straight to his hand.

"You're a wizard." She said, voice calm but nerves jangled.

The old man looked amused, glancing at her appreciatively. "Indeed." He turned the wand over in his hand looking at it with mild curiosity. "Blackwood wand, twelve inches, supple, good for charmwork; Very nice. What's the core?"

Rose watched with horrified disbelief as he braced the wand between his fingers and snapped it in two, sparks emitting from the break. "Oh, a phoenix feather! How predictable."

She realized she was gaping and closed her mouth with a resounding snap, back teeth clicking together. "You-you just-"

The man tucked the wand pieces into another pocket of his leather coat, patting it contentedly.

"Children shouldn't be allowed to play with weapons."

Rose flushed, starting to her feet. "I don't know who you think you are but I'm lea-"

"Sit. Down."

Rose wavered uncertainly on the spot, glancing between him and the door which seemed a long way off. A few of the more lucid muggles tossed her questioning glances.

Slowly, Rose sank back down onto her seat, knees weak.

"Now, Rose," the man steepled his fingers, peering at her over them. "I would very much like to know who _you _think I am."

Rose swallowed, turning her attention to his face. There was something vaguely familiar about the graying hair, the dark eyes- no, it was gone. She had never seen him before.

She shook her head mutely.

The man looked disappointed for a brief moment. "Nothing? No ideas whatsoever? Not even a tiny little inkling? Oh, very well, very well. I suppose I'll just have to introduce myself then."

He held out a lily-white hand, smiling in a way that should have been charming but came off as repulsive and sinister.

"Edgar Bones at your service, Ms. Weasley."

A chill ran down Rose's spine as the name registered in her mind, her eyes scrutinizing every inch of his face to detect a resemblance to the man in the photo she had seen in Godric's hollow.

To her horror, she found it.

"You-you're dead. You're supposed to be dead," she blurted out, fingers digging into the tabletop.

The man frowned at her. "Am I? Aah, but yes, of course I am." He chuckled as if he'd just told a wildly hilarious joke. "You would think so, wouldn't you?"

His lips twisted into a sneer as he regarded her. Then, wrenching his gaze from her, he turned to snap his fingers at a waitress. She hurried over, scooping up a menu on the way.

"What can I get you?"

He smiled at her, resting a hand on her waist. The woman glanced at him and blushed, inching away slightly. "Red wine for me and something strong for the lady. She's having a terrible day."

The woman tittered lightly, casting a glance at Rose, nodding as she took in her pasty complexion.

"I'll get her a Vodka." She smiled at the man- at Edgar, and swayed back to her post at the bar, teetering slightly in her heels.

Rose seemed to be experiencing tunnel vision as he turned back to her, adjusting his coat slightly. "Well," he said. "I suppose in true villainous fashion, I had best explain myself to you.

"As you've probably already guessed, I'm the…ahh, the 'killer' as the wildly inspired moniker goes. I'm rather disappointed they didn't give me a gruesome nickname, something to impress the fellows with- assuming there were any fellows to impress, of course." He paused as the waitress came back, depositing a stemmed glass of red wine in front of him and an insipid liquid in front of her.

"Who are you?" Rose demanded, causing the waitress to glance up curiously from her tray.

The man's eyes flashed with anger, acquiring a manic gleam which made Rose glad she was already sitting down.

The woman spared another glance at them as she bustled off, leaving them alone again.

"I thought I'd made it rather clear that I am, indeed, Edgar Bones, ex-member of the original Order of the Phoenix, supposed dead along with his parents, wife and two children." He smiled crookedly at her over the rim of his raised wine glass. "Cheers."

Rose tried to wrap her mind around the notion that he was probably telling the truth. "Why…why are you-why did you…?"

"Are you trying to ask why it is that I kill?"

Rose nodded, mind whirling with confusion.

"Well, why don't _you _kill?"

She gaped at him, wondering if he was serious. "Because I don't have a reason to?"

"Well, there you have it!" He said, waving a hand, as if illustrating a point. "I 'kill' because I _do _have a reason. And really, is it actually 'killing' when all my victims are soulless monsters with far more blood on their hands than I?"

Rose bristled at this, some of her sense returning to her. "That's ridiculous!" she snapped. "What about those aurors? What about Ivan? And what about me?"

Bones held up a finger, taking a meditative sip of his drink. "This 'exposing of dastardly schemes' is a rather trying business. Do have patience. Now let me see…" he gazed thoughtfully at the red liquid, swirling it a little. "The aurors- ahh yes. Well, they're all corrupt little buggers anyway aren't they? The ministry's little tin soldiers. Where were these aurors during the wars? Hiding behind the ministry's robes of course. I certainly didn't see any of them risking their lives for the 'commoners'. I don't see any of them posted at the wizarding prison. And I certainly don't see them doing much these days, what with allowing death eaters and killers to run around unheeded as long as they make sizeable 'donations' to the ministry."

"Is that what this is about?" Rose asked scathingly. "You're pissed off because a handful of death eaters were granted clemency. And so _naturally, _the only course of action was to _kill _them?"

Bones shrugged, finishing his drink. "I am merely reinstating the moral balance in this world."

Rose stared at him, no longer thinking of escaping. This…he was mad.

"You're mad." She said, unable to keep a hint of awe from her tone.

"That's a matter of opinion. As for Ivan, well his case was rather more personal. His brother Igor killed my wife- that wasn't all he did, of course-" His face twisted into a scowl as he said this. "and my children. I felt it only right to…collect my debt, as it were."

Rose's head was pounding from the excess of information, from the enormity of the situation as she grasped the fact that the elusive killer, the psychotic madman who had murdered at the very least twenty men was sitting in front of her, drinking wine and spilling his life story. Oh, and also, the small fact that he ought to have died about a bazillion years back.

"And…and what about me?" She asked carefully, heart speeding up as she anticipated his answer.

The man looked surprised, but it was clearly an act. "You? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Why was he making her say it? Was she signing her own death warrant?

"Why do you want kill me?" She asked slowly.

"Good heavens, is that what you think? Don't be silly girl. I don't want to kill you. If I did, you'd have been dead already."

"So then-So then why-?"

"Well," He said, leaning forward, his voice dropping an octave. "the thing is, there's something I need you to do for me. Something only you can do."

Rose wet her lips, pulse audible in her ears as she stared at the grinning face in front of her. "And what would that be?"

"I want you to kill Draco Malfoy."

* * *

**A/N: Eck! Now you know who the killer is! Did any of you guess it right? **

**By the way, I anticipated this question so I'm going to answer it here: You're probably wondering how such an old dude can possible be alive and healthy enough to go around on killing sprees. Well, chew on this- Dumbledore was 150 years old when he died! JK said so! Wizards are the shiznit. **

**I'm also fairly sure you didn't expect that ending. And that you are now confused as to what I could possibly be doing. I swear it makes sense! You'll see!**

**Heeh. Oh, I put in some Adam. Everyone wants a slice of Adam Pie. **

**I have started a Fulfillment Journal which is going to help me mature into a well-rounded individual. Some may say that the FJ is merely a glorified diary but those people are ignorant buffoons. Just you watch, the FJ is going to turn me into a sophisticated lady who only abuses every third word or so.**

**Review? **


	21. Mortal Peril

**A/N: I confess, I am FRIGHTENED. I don't want this story to end! It's a bit like breaking up with a boyfriend, to be honest. I know it's coming and I know it's partially my fault but it's still gonna be a massive suck-fest all around when it does happen. Not to mention, how will I live without the constant support and the lovely reviews, and even better all the friends I've made out here? Sniff. But this isn't the end just yet, so I suppose we'll just soldier on and get over that bridge when we come to it. -clasps fist to chest and stares off into distance with misty eyes- **

**First off, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter and made me ultra-happy with their exclamations of surprise and OMGs!: SaruDM, frostykitten, euphoenix, wow, arrrgghimapiratenow, ClimbingMonkey13, Lovewithoutexpectation, amy, tikinclocks, Roseweasley85, Internet is too slow to log in, Sundance1989, (nameless), lilbuddie715, Cass, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, ainat92, Silvermist76 and iwillalwaysloveyoux21.**

**And as the drill goes, to those who faved/alerted: clanmei, iwillalwaysloveyoux21, calaguala, jer5667 and Asuka-sama.**

**Unsigned Review Replies:**

**wow- Leave a username so I can respond properly to your review, please! Thanks :) Oh and there is a shortage of aurors because I killed most of them in chapters 9 and 10. :P **

**Internet...in- Your review definitely made my day awesome xD Please leave a username so I can reply to you privately! But otherwise, Thank you so much you really made me grin like a dope! I'm sorry for the slightly late update, some stuff came up! **

**Cass- Hahaa, I can't start another fic just yet! I really should study. :P BUT! Because I don't want to deprive you of good stuff, I suggest you check out Delicate by Padfoot4ever on hpff. Just type it into your search engine! I guarantee you'll love it- just don't forget about me when you're with the big 'uns ;) **

* * *

**Chapter 21: **

Scorpius let out a growl of frustration as he stood in the empty apartment.

She wasn't there. And she hadn't left a note or even a single hint as to where she could have gone. His blood pounded with anger as he thought of her traipsing off, leaving her relatively safe apartment to roam the streets of Merlin only knew where.

Twisting on his heel, with anger clouding his vision, he apparated to her parents' residence in Clapham.

_Someone _had to know where she was.

XXXXXX

"You're mental."

Rose shook her head, leaning away.

"You're mental." She said again.

Edgar Bones smiled indulgently at her, like an uncle humouring his delusional niece.

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose, suddenly convinced that this was all an elaborate prank and her cousins James and Fred would suddenly pop up from behind the bar and run over to toss her over their shoulders and dump her somewhere cold and nasty like a public swimming pool, laughing as she clambered out dripping with water and disdain…

"_Why," _she said with measured patience. "Do you want me to kill Draco Malfoy?"

"I can see I've surprised you." He said, looking inordinately pleased at this.

Rose let out a hoarse laugh, sure she was going mad as well. "I wouldn't call it 'surprised' exactly. What makes you think I'm going to do what you want me to?"

"Well," he said pleasantly. "Maybe the fact that you don't really have a choice. If you refuse to cooperate, I will kill not only you and Mr. Malfoy, but also your cousin Albus and your little boyfriend- Scorpius, is it? Aah, Scorpius Malfoy." He chuckled. "How fitting that he should be a Malfoy as well.

"However," he continued. "If you do as you are told and perform your task to my satisfaction, I shall spare you along with the rest of the would-be victims."

All of this- It made no sense to Rose. She couldn't, just couldn't see his reasoning behind this. Why Draco Malfoy? Why her? And why let the others go if she killed him? What was so important about the two of them?

She sank her head into her hands, wondering if he would enlighten her, provided she cared to ask.

"Why?" she rasped out.

Edgar Bones sighed loudly, letting out a long breath that seemed to go on forever. Rose was seized with the wild, frightening impulse to grab him by the neck and press until he could never take a breath again.

"You really haven't figured it out?" he asked, sounding genuinely regretful. "And I thought you were supposed to be smart. What do you think it's going to look like when the aurors find Mr. Malfoy's butchered body and you, the guilty culprit, standing over it?"

Rose snorted. "That's ridiculous. I've seen you now, I can just tell them that-that-"

Her heart sank as she realized what he was trying to say.

"-That you were forced to do so by a man who died fifty years ago?" He finished her sentence for her, letting it hang cruelly in the air.

Tears of panic pricked at her eyes and she forced them back with a monumental effort. "They won't believe I did it," She said quietly. "I have no motive."

"Yes," he said slowly, as if considering her argument. "There is that. But then there is also the fact that you were present the night Ivan karkaroff was first attacked. You were found in the same room as eight dead and two severely injured aurors. Karkaroff died the same day you found out he was alive and there is an entire hospital staff to corroborate this fact."

Rose paled as she realized that he was right. In each of those instances, she'd been the first one at the crime scene- the first and only one. And prior to each of them, she had been alone, unsupervised by even Scorpius. Even he wouldn't be able to testify for her.

"So when you add together all of these little incidences- and I can guarantee you, the wizengamot _will _add them up- I think you look pretty darn guilty, Ms. Weasley."

"And of course nobody will even think to look further when they're sure they've already found their killer. Nothing will happen to you." She completed his explanation for him, reality setting in quickly and painfully.

He smiled at her proudly, a teacher who had explained a difficult theorem to his favourite pupil. "Precisely! Of course, to maintain this charade, I will have to leave my work unfinished. It's terrible, but it can't be helped. I rather think I should quit while I'm ahead, don't you? On the bright side, I won't have to kill you either."

He nudged her glass of Vodka with one hand. "Your glass is half full, Ms. Weasley. Drink up."

XXXXXXXX

There had been no one at the brownstone in Clapham and the house in Godric's hollow had been empty as well. In a last ditch effort, he had apparated to The Burrow, hoping fervently to find Rose there.

She wasn't of course. But her grandparents were, along with a few other redheaded members of her family and the occasional blonde.

And they'd all been rather adamant on finding out why he was searching for Rose as if her life depended on it.

"I could contact Hermione. Maybe she'd know…" Molly Weasley said, frantically wringing her hands as Scorpius perched delicately on the flowery couch, eyeing Fred Weasley and his drawn wand warily.

The retired Arthur adjusted his spectacles, placing a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. "I'm sure she's alright, Molly. Rose is a very capable witch, she can manage for a few hours."

"Oh, do be quiet, Arthur!" she snapped at the hapless man. "When were you ever a young girl? The city isn't safe for young ladies these days- I knew she should have stayed at the burrow! Godric knows, we have plenty of room for her. But no! She had to stay in one of those modern apparatements!"

"Apartments, dear." Arthur corrected gently and perhaps rather unwisely.

Scorpius winced as Molly turned and vent her frustration on her husband. Rose's cousin- he couldn't remember which Weasley's son he was- Fred was eyeing him menacingly, making a great show of rolling his wand conspicuously between his fingers.

There was a house-elf dressed in a flowery tea cozy and ten bobble hats lurking in the corner. An amulet with an S carved on the front bounced on his chest as he hummed, dusting a tall lamp.

With a hasty glance at his watch, he clambered to his feet. "I've been here too long, I'll look elsewhere and please tell Mr. Potter to contact me if you manage to get in touch with him."

Mrs. Weasley turned to look at him inspecting his watch, her mouth forming a surprised O.

She clapped a calloused hand to her head, realization dawning on her face. "Of course! Wait right here, dear! I'll be right back!"

She bustled off towards the kitchen, returning a moment later with a heavy clock floating in front of her. She set it down gently on the table and the small group crowded around it.

Scorpius watched, entranced and horrified, as one of the clock's hands, marked Rose Weasley oscillated rapidly between 'Hospital' and 'Mortal Peril'.

"I have to go," he said, already heading for the door.

"Wait." A hand grasped his arm, holding him back.

"I'm coming too." Fred said grimly.

"Me too!" A blond teenager in the corner piped up.

"No way, Louis." Fred said. "You're underage. You're staying here- And so are you Roxie."

The dark haired girl who'd been rising to her feet fell back on to the couch with a massive scowl on her face.

Scorpius considered the pros and cons of letting a civilian come with him- Fred Weasley, with his stocky build, determined expression, and ready wand.

"Fine," he said. "St. Mungo's, right now."

XXXXXXXXX

Rose walked unsteadily down the hallway, back erect with tension. Her shoes were silent against the gleaming marble tiles. The WelcomeWitch nodded at her with a smile, waving her through to the lifts without stopping her.

She'd assumed Rose was going to visit her father again.

"Are you all right, dear? You're looking a bit peaky. Patient's lift is separate."

Rose turned to the elderly woman regarding her concernedly.

"N-" The hand clamped around her shoulder pressed hard. Rose forced a smile. "Yes, everything's fine. I just need to get to the-" The grip on her shoulder tightened with bruising force. "I just need to go." Rose finished weakly.

The woman looked at her dubiously but shrugged it off, exiting the lift on the third floor.

Rose closed her eyes weakly as the two of them were alone in the lift again.

"Nice try," the man said dryly, easing his hold on her. Rose shot a contemptuous look in his general direction. She couldn't see him of course, as he was disillusioned.

"You're mad if you think you're going to get away with this." She said scathingly. "There are going to be aurors all over the fourth floor."

There was no response as the lift doors tinged open, a cool female voice announcing her destination.

"_Fourth floor- Spell damage."_

Rose was propelled forward by the invisible man behind her and she stumbled a little as her feet touched the floor.

She had been right- there were at least five wizards in dark green auror robes milling around the Janus Thickey ward to her left.

Edgar nudged her gently to the right and she began walking, casting desperate glances behind her, hoping to catch one of the auror's eyes. But none of them looked up from their task and before she could attempt anything, they'd turned a corner and were out of sight.

_Scorpius. _

Her mind zeroed in on the last hope- that Scorpius would be with his father in his ward. Surely with three of them present, they could overpower Bones? Even if one of them- Draco- was injured.

But then this was the man who'd killed eight aurors in a go. _Eight. _

Her stomach plummeted at the thought. How strong was he?

She jerked to a halt involuntarily as Bones' grip on her tightened once again, pulling her to a stop.

"Ms. Weasley!"

Rose looked up, half horrified and half relieved at seeing Gilderoy Lockhart approaching her with a stack of glossy sheets in his hands.

"Would you like another autograph? I've learned this new way of writing…It's really very elegant. Here, let me show you…"

The blond man flashed her a charming smile and began scribbling industriously away on the top sheet, tongue poking out of his mouth.

"_Get rid of him." _

Rose flinched at Bones' voice, tapping Lockhart on the arm.

"Uhh, Mr. Lockhart, I'm afraid I can't stop right now. Can we talk later?"

He looked up, pouting slightly. "Nobody wants to talk to me anymore! They even threw me out of the Thickey ward- they said there were nargles lose there but I have no idea what those are. Do you know what nargles are?"

"I don't, sorry." Rose widened her eyes at him, hoping he would pick up on the vibe that something was wrong. But Lockhart just nodded sadly and tucked his pictures away. "Oh, alright, alright. I can tell when I'm not wanted you know…I'll just go."

He wandered off, zigzagging a bit as he swerved to avoid random spots. "Is that a nargle?...said they were invisible…haah! Got one!..."

Rose stifled a groan and continued walking, unsure where she was headed.

A few seconds later, Edgar stopped her again, this time in front of a door.

"Take this." He said, his coat rustling as he moved. "I assume you'll know what to do."

Rose's heart shot into her throat as she stared at the knife that seemed to have materialized in thin air hovering in front of her, held securely in an invisible grasp.

XXXXXXXX

Scorpius pivoted slowly, looking at the massive interior of Mungo's with a vague sense of horror. How were they supposed to find Rose here?

"I'll go check if she's with Uncle Ron." Fred said, heading towards the lifts. "I'll send you a patronus if she is."

Scorpius nodded in assent and strode over to the WelcomeWitch.

"Excuse me-" He cut to the front of the line, causing a bit of an uproar. "Did Rose Weasley check in today?"

The witch behind the desk flashed a smile at him, smoothing down her hair and tugging at the neckline of her shirt. "Oh, yes. I saw her ten minutes ago. You've just missed her."

"Right," Scorpius said, ignoring the wizard with the pot jammed over his head who was ramming into him repeatedly, evidently confused at finding something in his way. "And did she ask you for a floor or a ward number? Anything at all?"

The witch grimaced apologetically at him. "She didn't, sorry. I just waved her through like I always do. I mean, she's _Rose Weasley. _She's hardly a suspicious character who needs to be searched thoroughly every time she walks into a building." She laughed lightly to emphasize how ridiculous she thought the notion.

"Of course," Scorpius said rigidly, mentally cursing the witch. "Well, thanks anyway."

He cut back out of the line, almost running to the lifts. He'd start by notifying the aurors on the fourth floor- they could send out a search party to manually comb the hospital from top to bottom.

XXXXXXX

Rose's heart hammered in her chest as she grasped the metal knob with slick hands, turning it slowly. The door opened soundlessly but the occupant glanced up at once, eyebrows shooting up as he recognized his visitor.

Her heart sank as she realized that Draco was alone.

"Rose," he said, surprise evident in his tone. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Mr. Malfoy." Rose said lamely, wiping her hands on her jeans. "I-is Scorpius here?"

Draco's expression clouded as she said this. "No," he said slowly. "I thought he was with you."

"W-with me? No, of course not. He was supposed to be here." She tried desperately to ignore the sharp throbbing in her shoulder where Edgar still held on tenaciously. Her voice had acquired a slightly manic edge.

Draco drew his reading glasses off, folding and setting aside the newspaper he held. "Is something wrong?" he asked cautiously.

Edgar prodded her roughly in the back and she stepped closer quickly. "No, no. Nothing's wrong." Her hands drifted back to where she'd stashed the knife in the waistband of her pants, hidden beneath her shirt. She drew it out slowly even as Edgar released her and backed off.

Her hands shook wildly and to her intense mortification, the knife clattered from her grasp, landing on the floor in plain view.

Draco's eyes darted from her to the knife and then back again, wide with disbelief. He straightened up, reaching for his wand before realizing it was with the hospital staff. "Wha-?"

Rose picked up the detestable weapon again, hardly able to believe what she was doing.  
"I-I don't want to do this." She said, voice unsteady.

"Do what?"

She gestured helplessly with the blade, shaking her head in despair.

She had no idea where Edgar was now. If he'd still been behind her, maybe she could turn around and just…she shuddered at the unfinished thought before realizing her current situation was worse.

"I've seen that look before." Draco said wryly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Really, where?" She was stalling for time, for both of their sakes.

"On me," He said flatly. "In my sixth year."

There was a pause of silence as Rose expected him to continue and he didn't.

"….Oh." She said finally.

"So, who's making you do it then?"

"E-" A hand wrapped itself around her throat, cutting off her wind supply. She clutched at it, gasping for air. Fury rising, Rose stamped her foot down hard, catching Bones on the instep. He released her with a hiss, leaving her to massage her throat.

"Who's there?" Draco swung a leg off the edge of his bed, trying and failing to stand. "Who else is in the room?"

"I'm sorry," Rose's voice rasped as she spoke, tears of pain stinging her eyes. "If I don't, he's going to kill us both and…and Scorpius too."

Draco sank back onto his pillows, disbelief and then resignation playing across his features. "Am I going to regret it if I choose to believe you?"

Rose bit her lip, unable to answer the question.

"_Do it now." _His voice hissed into her ear.

She flinched and took the last steps towards the bed and the unfortunate figure on it.

Her eyes met the older man's as she raised a trembling hand, dagger shaking dangerously. His familiar grey eyes held the question running through her mind: would she do it?

Fear seemed to be making her chest cave in- fear and disbelief. How could she possibly do it? How could she kill someone? This whole time she'd been banking on reinforcements, help from some unexpected quarter, a miracle even.

But this was it. She had to decide now. Was she going to be manipulated into killing an innocent man or was she going to stand up and for once in her life, fight her own bloody battle?

"I can't- I _won't _do it." She loosened her grip and the knife clattered harmlessly to the ground, the metallic ring echoing around the silent room.

"You have to."

Her head snapped up in shock as she stared at Draco. "I-what?"

"You have to do it," he said again, sounding unnaturally calm. "I'd rather die now than two minutes later along with my son. If this saves Scorpius….well, then I'm all for it. Go on." He arched a mocking eyebrow, challenging, encouraging her to pick up the knife again.

He seemed calm, completely in possession of his own faculties but his hands were shaking- something which didn't go unnoticed.

Rose shook her head wildly. "No-No, I can't-I-" She stumbled backward, yelping as her back came in contact with something hard.

A vice grip tightened around her upper arm and looking around, she could finally see the killer-he'd taken off the charm.

"This is getting boring," he drawled. "And you-" He turned to Rose. "I'm quite disappointed, but quite frankly, not surprised in the least. You are a bit of a coward aren't you?"

His smile was friendly as he grasped her harshly and slammed her into the wall, watching dispassionately as she slid downwards, hands covering the cut on her forehead. "I'll deal with you in a minute."

"Now," he said, summoning the knife wandlessly. "Mr. Malfoy," He grinned crookedly at Draco. "Any last words?"

XXXXX

"Okay, I'll organize it as soon as possible. Lightwood and Clare should be back any minute, they can start searching along with the others."

"I'll do this floor then. Start with the third." Scorpius nodded at Zabini, turning to leave.

"I'm sure she's fine, mate." Zabini gripped his shoulder lightly. "She's probably upstairs in the caf eating a sandwich or something. In fact, I think I'll go check there…"

He clapped Scorpius on the back and rushed off to do so, robes billowing behind him.

Scorpius was too taught with nerves to roll his eyes at the retreating figure. He hastened down the right corridor himself, banging open each door along the way.

None of them held the person he was looking for, though his heart leapt each time he caught a flash of red hair.

His frustration grew as each room went by. This was a hopelessly ineffective way of searching- each second could be crucial if she really was in danger. He couldn't imagine what sort of situation she could have landed herself in in a hospital though. Maybe he really was just overreacting.

"Hullo, Hullo, Hullo! Care for an autograph?"

He let out a breath of exasperation as his way was blocked by a fair-haired man clutching a stack of pictures of himself.

"Move," he commanded, side-stepping the nuisance.

"Oh dear! How terribly rude of you. Just like that girl…nobody has time for poor old me anymore…can't imagine why seeing as I'm so dashing."

Scorpius whipped around, finally paying attention to the blond. "What girl?"

"Oh! Er-forgotten her name…I knew it just now…drat. Hmm, red hair, so-so height, extremely rude?"

He gripped Lockhart's robes, pulling his closer. "Which way did she go?"

"I say! Hands off the merchandise! I'll tell you where she went as long as you tell your friends they can find me here for more autographs. I really do like giving them out."

XXXXXXX

He held the knife poised over Malfoy's heart, ready to drive it in.

"Any last words?"

"Yeah," the man spat at him, baring his teeth in contempt. "Fuck you."

Edgar frowned in displeasure, wiping his face distastefully. "How unrefined," he said dryly. "And I thought you had good breeding. Very well, goodbye then."

He drove the dagger down, anticipating the delicious feeling of a sharp blade tearing through skin and the metallic tang of blood that would follow.

In those few seconds, four things happened simultaneously.

A solid object tackled him, knocking the breath out of his lungs; The knife in his hand changed paths, dragging across the chest of the man underneath him; someone screamed in agony and the door to the ward burst open with a deafening slam.

Edgar Bones dropped the knife as Rose Weasley sprawled across him, hands wrapped around his throat.

* * *

**-Special Feature for PTBA fans-**

**Preeeesenting, something which is NOT a circus act! :**

**PAL THE BAD ASS! **

Wassup homies.

So, this might be the last Pal the Bad Ass note. Why, you ask? Because our beloved fanfic 'Bodyguard' is nearing its end. So the next time you hear from me will be after our grade 12 examinations when Annevader decides to write another story. Provided that Im physically present in the same country as her after school to hijack her computer and type whatever shit I want.

Now now. Dont worry. Im not going to go all sappy on y'all. Im not gonna actually mention how much I'll miss this fic even though i didnt write and its a bit wierd for me to miss it. Yup. So not mentioning that. Im also not going to mention how much fun it was to read all your reviews. (Thank you for mentioning me! )

My therapist is a bit wierd. First, she told me to express my feelings with people and not to hold everything in ( She thinks its my lack of communication of feelings *shudder* that causes me to go all apeshit on people in my sexy patented bad ass way. She doesnt know that I was just born with it. Just like Justin Timberlake was born sexy, I was born a Bad Ass.)

Speaking of a sexy bad ass, Have any of you ever seen this american sitcom called modern family? Its got this funniest, sexiest, most adorable,sexiest,funniest character on earth.  
Phil Dunphy yo.  
I know its wierd for me to crush on  
a) A guy who is 20 years elder to me.  
b) A guy who is fictional.  
But, he well...just speaks to me, you know?  
I mean, sure. He isnt the sharpest pencil in the pencil holder, Or the brightest bulb in that crazy house full of bulbs, But he is a real Bad Ass. Just like me. So check him out yo.

Peace.

P.S Annevader, DONOT INTRODUCE ME LIKE A CIRCUS ACT EVER AGAIN. Thank you :)

**A/N: She's gone and made me emotional. Damn hoe. JUST KIDDING DON'T KILL ME! I love you? **

**And I love YOU all too! It's a love-fest. Ohh, yeaah. **


	22. Stronger

**A/N: This is short I know, but in my defence this chapter was supposed to be a part of the last one but it was too long for that so...I sort of extended it. Which is good, because it gives you more to read, ultimately!**

**And, I am putting up the Epilogue tomorrow!...which is a sad event and I will probably cry. Okay, maybe I won't, I'm actually quite heartless. Let's see if you all can make me cry from sheer sorrow/pain from when you punch me for this chapter/onions.**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed, I love you all! Sniff! Oh, God. I'm buying tissues in advance and putting them in my zombie apocalypse survival kit.- SaruDM, Kirra993, raspberrysorbet, euphoenix, Love without expectation, arrrgghimapiratenow, Rachel, Missdagane, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, annagray, Sundance1989, lilbuddie715, Zara Alexandros, Cass, Amy, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, tikincloks, ClimbingMonkey13, Clanmei and Internet Person!**

**Rachel- Yay, you caught my subtle wordplay/pun! What you interpreted is right as well, of course, and my idea was that he'd be like, 'Your glass if half-full because I'm not going to kill you at the very least, right?' It has a triple meaning!...woah. As for serious fluff, welllll, there's some fluff in the Epilogue but none of that shag-your-brains-out-because-i'm-sexually-frustrated stuff. It's more domestic-y. Oh, you'll see. **

**Internet Person- I salute you. A week without internet and I would probably shrivel up and die in a corner somewhere, only for my lifeless husk to be discovered later when a brave soul ventures into the toxic zone that is my bedroom. I took your advice and put some vegetables in my noodles. I didn't eat them. But I feel v. healthy now! :D And I'm getting anxiety attacks as well because my life will be rendered meaningless when this story is over. (Sort of.) So, to appease you and convey my thnxxx, chapter 22!**

**Cass- You bring tears to my eyes. Really! *Sniff.* Lemme know what you think of that fic, I totally love it. (And no, I don't know the Greatness that is the author of that story.) **

* * *

**Chapter 22:**

He had his wand out before she could do any damage.

"_Crucio!"_

White-hot knives ripped through her as she was blasted back, slamming into the far wall.

Blood and pain clouded her vision as she slumped over, the curse still wracking her body. It broke off abruptly, but her muscles rang with the aftershock.

Rose wiped the blood out of her eyes, her hand coming away slick and covered in it.

The duel raged on in front of her, the bangs and colours of the curses being fired both ways flagrant in the small room.

She gripped the wall, trying to stand and falling back; her knees seemed to have lost all feeling and in her current state she couldn't find it in herself to be surprised by Scorpius' timely entrance. All she felt was relief- tons of it.

But it wasn't over yet.

"Rose…"

She dragged herself to the elder Malfoy, clutching the side of his bed for support. Bile rose in her throat as she stared at the vicious cut across his chest, stretching from just below his heart to his stomach. It could have been worse though; it could have been through his heart.

He turned his head towards her, the small movement taking immense effort. "The knife," he rasped out. "Get the knife."

Her eyes widened in alarm as she scanned the floor for it. She spotted it against the far wall and forcing herself to rise to her knees, half-crawled and half-stumbled towards it.

XXXXXXXXX

The moment he'd burst through the correct door, he'd been greeted with the sights of his worst nightmares: His dad, bleeding and half-dead and Rose strangling an old man on the floor.

Well, okay, so his nightmares had never gone_ exactly_ like that but it was close enough.

He'd snapped out of his momentary stupor when the man beneath Rose picked up his wand and cast the cruciatus at her. Rage and shock fueling him, he'd propelled himself forward, barely aware of Lockhart gaping at the scene from the doorway.

He was now locked in combat with the man, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was difficult trying to keep up with him.

Dodging his killing curse, he cast a stunner, erecting a shield with a flourish. The man's eyes bugged out in fury, jaw clenched as he dismantled the shield within moments, unleashing a fresh torrent of dark curses.

Everything was moving so quickly he could barely form the curses- and not of the magical variety- running through his mind.

Jumping out of the path of an oncoming _sectumsempra, _he chanced a glance at the other side of the room.

Rose was determinedly dragging herself towards a seemingly random spot- _away _from the door, and Draco was trying to staunch the flow of blood with the hospital sheets, his face completely white.

"Rose! Get out of_- Protego! Impedimenta!-_ fucking bastard!-"

Cursing violently, he turned back to his assailant, blocking a volley of purple and green jets of light. A red beam slipped past his attention, sending him backwards into the wall.

His shoulders impacted with it first, jarring the rest of his body violently. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he sprang up, ignoring the disjointed feeling in his shoulder and the sharp tang of blood in his mouth where he'd bitten his tongue.

As he raised his wand, already casting defensive spells he failed to notice that Gilderoy Lockhart had spun around and run back down the corridor, trailing coloured paper as he went.

XXXXXX

Rose clasped the knife yet again, her hands slipping over it a few times. She wiped them against her clothes, trying to get rid of the layers of blood on them.

Her head was bleeding profusely and she couldn't feel anything except pins and needles in her left leg. She whipped around as Scorpius yelled her name telling her to get out before abruptly breaking off and cursing instead.

Her eyes widened as she saw him flying back into the wall the way she had just moments ago. Making her decision, she scooped up the weapon and bracing herself for the pain, lurched to her feet, staggering forwards as fast as she could.

XXXXXX

Ron roared and charged forward, hospital gown trailing after him as he raced through the corridor. A panicked Fred Weasley ran after him, closely followed by Hugo and about three aurors. Trailing after all of them was an excited yet bewildered Lockhart.

"-Ruddy bastard messing with my daughter! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"

"Uncle Ron, wait! You're heading the wrong way!"

"Dad! Dad, your gown! Oh, Merlin, my eyes!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Scorpius spat blood out of his mouth as the dark wand dug into his throat, forcing him to look up.

He'd managed to land a direct hit on his opponent but he'd just skidded back a few inches rather than colliding with the wall as he ought to have. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the psycho they'd been hunting for over half a year.

The manic gleam in his eyes and the feral enjoyment he seemed to be deriving from this were proof enough.

One of his spells- a simple ramming one, rather than a dark curse- had caught Scorpius again and he was fairly certain he'd heard a few of his ribs cracking. Before he'd managed to recover from the blow, the man had crossed the room in a few strides and had his wand jammed against his throat, kicking Scorpius' wand out of the way.

"I guess I'll have to kill you after all," he said cheerfully. "Right before I kill your father and that silly little girl back there."

"Fuck off." Scorpius said, equally cheerfully.

This seemed to amuse the man greatly as he burst into raucous laughter. "Would you believe, that's exactly what your father said- right before I stabbed him, the filthy traitor. I'm going to make your girlfriend watch while I kill you, slowly and I can guarantee, painfully."

He was clearly expecting a reaction but Scorpius had stopped paying attention a long time ago; he was more interested in trying to figure out what exactly Rose was trying to do.

She'd dragged herself upright and was stumbling towards them, leaving behind a trail of red footsteps. Her right hand was closed around something but he couldn't see past the figure blocking his view.

Sincerely hoping she was leaving, Scorpius tuned back into what the killer was saying.

"- maybe I'll even have some fun with her before I kill her. She's a bit young for me to be honest, but quite feisty. What do you think, eh?"

What Scorpius thought had nothing much to do with whether the man in front of him ought to have fun or not.

XXXXXXXXX

Ron kicked the door open, hospital gown safely transfigured into robes. He roared yet again, waving his wand about.

And stopped as he took in the carnage in front of him.

XXXXXXXXX

Rose was vaguely aware of the door swinging open. All she knew was, it distracted the killer and as he looked up from his victim, she saw an opening.

And she took it.

Darting forward, faster than she'd have thought possible, Rose threw herself at Edgar Bones and watched his face grow slack with shock as the blade in her hand sank through his heart.

He gaped at her senselessly for a few moments, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him. The colour seemed to drain from his face and instead spilled out on to the floor, running from the wound in great streams of red.

"How…..?" His voice was a low whisper, barely audible over the loud silence in the room.

And then, finally, his heart juddered to a stop and his eyes rolled back in his head.

The last thing he ever saw was the girl he'd tried to kill, a dispassionate expression of cold relief fixed firmly in place on her blood-stained face.

There was a heavy silence in the moments that followed, as the late arrivals stared dumbfounded at the final act of a play laid out in front of them.

Rose turned, shoulders slumping with exhaustion, mind reeling with disbelief, trying to grasp that it was _over- _to the blond kneeling next to her, staring at her with a mix of awe and fear.

"Well," Scorpius said, trying to sound upbeat. "That was sexy."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Excerpts from the Daily Prophet:**

_**Killer unveiled; death toll ends at 20(?)**_

(21th September, 2029)

_The shocking revelation that rocked the wizarding world has finally been confirmed: The mysterious killer who left a trail of gruesome murders in his wake- of former death eaters and aurors alike- was none other than Edgar Bones, former member of the Original order of the phoenix, presumed dead in the First War. _

_Bones was certifiably a maniac. Residual memories examined by healers have confirmed that Bones has been living for nearly fifty years under the false name of Charles Humperdink, reputable member of the 'Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers'. Mr. Humperdink has been in attendance at the past decade's worth of ministry balls and events and many embarrassed ministry employees have refused to comment. _

_Minister of Magic, Oswald Beamish said to a DP reporter: "Humperdink? Humperdink? How do I know who Humperdink is? Do I look like a fellytone book to you? Humperdink, indeed!"_

_The death toll has reached an estimate of 20 murders including Theodore Nott, Gawain Robards, Ivan Kar…._

XXXXXXXX

_**Rose W. cleared of charges; Wizengamot apologizes**_

(4th October, 2029)

_Rose Weasley, daughter of war heroes Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley who faced trial by the Wizengamot for murder of one Edgar Bones(see: Charles Humperdink) has been acquitted of all charges. The Wizengamot has ruled that the act was carried out in self defense as well as the defense of two other individuals present at the scene. _

_According to Herman Blinkhorn, Chief Warlock, "She was doing us a service really. That Edgar was a bad egg- we'd have had to leave him to the dementors and you know how excited that lot get at being served souls- Won't stop asking for more. Damned nuisance."_

_Ms. Weasley conducted herself with dignity during the period of the trial and…_

XXXXXXXXX

**Excerpts from Witch Weekly, women's magazine:**

(15th December, 2029)

'_This reporter's suspicions have been confirmed! We had hinted rather strongly that the duo, Scorpius Malfoy(yum!) and Rose Weasley(Meh…) had reignited their romance when they left on a hush-hush trip to Egypt together. The trip was short-lived but their love for each other certainly isn't! (Unfortunately.)_

_This witch(Marlene Skeeter's the name, honey and don't you forget it!) and a trusty pair of extendable ears have caught on to quite a few intimate conversations between the two over the past two months. Here's an example:_

ROSE: I….I'm…Merlin, I can't even say I'm sorry, can I? What would be the use? It seems a bit inadequate somehow.

SCORPIUS: It was a misunderstanding. And you don't need to apologize for something that happened five years ago. We needed the time apart anyway.

ROSE: Yes, but….I feel so stupid! If there's some way I can make it up to you-anything at all-

SCORPIUS: Anything? Well, I can think of a few things…

_At this point, the reporter's extendable ears were chewed through by a venomous little garden gnome who is currently hanging from his ankles in the backyard. All we know is, at this point the swoon-worthy Malfoy bachelor(?) leaned forward and whispered some undoubtedly naughty things to a very red Rose Weasley._

_Oh, if only he would say anything, anything at all to the rest of us! –cries violently-_

_Anywho, just last night while out clubbing and searching for delicious prey(re: younger men), this reporter spotted none other than this dynamic duo closeted in a secluded corner along with Dominique Weasley and….wait for it….our very own playboy, Alec Zabini! _

_Mm, overload of hotties, eh? Scorose seemed rather lovey-dovey and wrapped in each other, gazing into each other's eyes and occasionally being pelted by peanuts (courtesy of Domini/Domec/Wabini)._

_What are these two lover's intentions towards each other, one might ask? Well, fear not, for it's our job to find out and find out we will!_

_Hope to have news for you lovely readers soon!_

-Marlene Skeeter, columnist with Witch Weekly magazine.

* * *

**Lookie! I put in evil Skeeter's kid! Don't ask me why she has the same last name as her mother, I'll have to make up some cover story about her mum is divorced/gay/a feminist. **

**I hope those articles helped clear up some of your confusion regarding how E. Bones managed to stay hidden for xxx years. **

**And I really don't want to say Goodbye, so I won't!...I'll say that next chapter which is the last and therefore tragic(for me).**

**I'll see you then, my lovely, awesome, happy, non-frilly, polka dotted, T-Rexes.**

**And lastly, Did this ending surprise you? Did you think wuss-y Rose had it in her? Did you like the final glimpse of Ron Weasley acting stupid? And did you actually read this author's note? *dun-dun-dun-dun* **


	23. Epilogue

**A/N: To start off, Happy Halloween! And this is important, those who will leave anonymous reviews for this chapter can look for a response on my profile page as I won't be able to respond in the next chapter, obviously. And the rest of you are definitely getting responses because I don't know how to say goodbye.**

* * *

_Do you ever long for,_

_ true love from me?_

Everyday- Rogue Wave

**Chapter 23: **

**Epilogue**

Rose's lips twitched in amusement as she raised her eyes to find Scorpius slumped on the sofa, fast asleep. His eyelashes were fluttering slightly, head resting on the armrest.

She rubbed her eyes, exhaustion seeping in quickly. Her eyes ached from the hours she'd spent poring over ads for apartments and one to two bedroom flats. She did a double take as she checked the time; it was three in the morning already. No wonder he'd fallen asleep while she continued to be fueled by her determination to get her work over and done with.

Folding the paper slowly and carefully, so as not to make any sound, she set it aside along with her quill and phone. There was no way she'd be able to call anyone at this time anyway.

Tiptoeing past the sleeping figure, she resisted the urge to brush her fingers over his face- which was creepy enough even when not done in the wee hours of the morning- and let out a loud yelp as arms wound around her, pulling her backwards.

She landed with a comfortable thump on Scorpius' lap, his head propped up sleepily against her back.

"Let me go!" She protested. The effect was ruined somewhat by the fact that she was giggling as she said it.

"Mmmf." He mumbled into her back.

"What was that?"

"You're squashing me."

"Prat!" She smacked him lightly on the head, wriggling to get away. "You shouldn't have pulled me back then."

He grinned at her as she twisted around to face him, leaning in to capture her lips in a slow and languorous kiss. "Still looking for a place to stay?" He mumbled softly against her lips.

"You know I am. And a fat lot of help you've been, hogging my couch and distracting me in general."

He smirked but it was closer to a smile. "I am rather good at distracting you, aren't I?"

Rose pursed her lips at him, trying to hide her smile. "Not as good as you seem to think you are."

His eyes opened at this. "Really?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge I hear?"

Rose's grin was wiped off completely as he closed the distance between them again. She practically melted as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips and winding his fingers gently in her hair. She let out a grunt of protest as he pulled away.

"What was that you were saying?"

"What?" Rose said dazedly, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Precisely." He said triumphantly, winding his arms back around her waist.

Rose snapped out of it and smacked him again, lunging forward as he leaned away, laughing at her expression.

"Whatever." She huffed. "The point is, there are absolutely _no _good apartments on the market right now. I'll just have to put up with this one, I guess."

She sighed and slid off his lap, looking around at the place that had been her home for over three years. Whereas earlier, it had been a place of comfort for her, now it just depressed her. She could picture too clearly for her comfort, the killer- Edgar Bones, lurking in this apartment, breaking in, scrawling that message on her mirror and ripping the place apart.

And as soon as her thoughts turned to him, she was seized with an overwhelming pang of remorse and guilt mixed with a sort of desperation she couldn't explain. She didn't know what it was she wanted- to get away, to turn back time so she'd never stumbled across him in that alley all those months ago?

But no, it couldn't be the last one because as cheesy as it sounded, if she hadn't been threatened by Bones, she never would have met Scorpius again. She wouldn't be with him now. And the killer would most likely still have been on the loose and people would still be dying.

Whatever it was, all she knew was that it was agony to continue living here- especially alone. She'd grown oddly accustomed to having Scorpius around and even though he still spent a major portion of most days with her- and nights too, she reflected with a blush- it was just worse that ever when he wasn't there.

She was distracted from her thoughts, when she turned to Scorpius and found him scrutinizing her intently.

"It still bothers you." he said quietly.

Her shoulders slumped as her exhaustion struck again. "It does." She admitted.

As vile as Bones had been, he'd still been human. And it haunted her that she'd killed him, that she literally had someone's blood on her hands.

To her relief, Scorpius didn't push the subject. Instead, he drew her closer and she leant her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"About your living arrangements," he said in a would-be casual voice, his chest moving beneath her head as he spoke. He cleared his throat, fiddling with a lock of her hair. "I was thinking-I mean, what I'm saying is- As in what I was _about _to say was-"

Rose sat up, pinning him with a suspicious look. "Go on."

He looked away, studying the unicorn-patterned lampshade Nigbit had gifted her for Christmas. With an encouraging prod from her, he turned back to her, face calm again but eyes still displaying his nervousness.

She found it oddly endearing.

"What I was saying," he exhaled slowly. "Was that maybe if you couldn't find a place, or maybe if you just wanted to, you could stay with me?"

Rose just stared at him as he looked back at her, shoulders tense with anticipation.

At length she said, "Scorpius. Are you asking me in a rather roundabout way if I want to move in with you?"

His shoulders slumped with relief. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm asking."

"Hmm," she said slowly, tapping her chin. "I'll have to think about that."

"Really?"

"No!"

"No?" His eyes widened with hurt. "Oh, well, that's alright of course." He babbled. "I was afraid you'd think it was too fast, I mean I can wait, I totally don't mind, I-"

Rose laughed and put a finger over his lips, effectively shutting him up.

"Scorp, you dope, I meant _No, I don't need to think about that."_

"….Oh." He sat up straight again, grinning weakly. "So then, your answer is…?"

Rose looked at him, his expression one of wistful hope and suppressed excitement. It was amazing how for once, his face was no longer a blank slate- he was as easy to read right now as she usually was.

"Yes."

He broke into a disarming grin.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

He pulled her flush against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She laughed against his chest, his heart beating rhythmically underneath her hand. He pressed his face into her hair, and murmured something so softly she almost didn't catch it.

Almost being the key word.

She responded by kissing him and smirking up at him, trying to imitate his trademark expression. "I love you too, doofus."

"Hey! I'm not a doofus- Wait, really?"

She hid her face by pressing it back against his chest, his whispered words replaying in her mind.

_Rose Weasley, I think I'm in love with you._

"So," he said casually. "Does this mean I can punch that Will fellow if he tries to stalk you again?"

"Malfoy!"

"Ow, woman! That hurts!"

* * *

**Aaaaaaand it's over.**

**And my heart just broke. **

**Oh, God, this is horrible! I did try to finish it on an upbeat note so none of us would dissolve into tears. (Okay, it's probably just me who's going to cry but still.)**

**I want to take this final moment to say thank you to all those who've been there from the start or have consistently showed their support, whether through reviews or PM's or however.**

**Cass, lilbuddie715, SaruDM, Missdagane, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, euphoenix, tikincloks, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, Pinakamataas, Roseweasley85, Silvermist76, lunapeacock, x-rayLady, Love without expectation, Rachel, Amy, ainat92, Sundance1989, ohmygolly, xiLynnx, arrrgghimapiratenow, ClimbingMonkey13, Mrs. Theodore Nott, CrimsonBludger83, raspberrysorbet.**

**This story is more yours than mine, because if it weren't for all of you, following each and every single update and calming me down when I got anxiety attacks over whether or not I'd done well, I doubt we would even have reached this stage. This fic would probably be incomplete, lying around gathering dust for all eternity. **

**But of course, this is also for every single person who has ever read, reviewed, alerted, criticized or favourited this story, those who've PM'ed me and even those who've read this story entirely without my knowledge of theirs having ever been here. **

**And then there's Pal The Bad Ass and Palak who are going to be my crying-buddies. They literally sat with me for hours trying to figure out how to continue with the story and how to end it and called me at all hours of the night with feedback on the latest chapter. I love you guys :)**

**And now, my long oscar-worthy speech is over, so as tikincloks put it so eloquently...**

******À la prochaine.**

******PS- EAT DONUTS! Unless you are allergic to them, in which case you have my condolences. Peace. **


End file.
